Volume 18 | Number 2 | Summer 2006 | Environmental Issue

WASHINGTON UPDATE

EPA Announces Initiatives Under Way Related to Animal Feeding Operations

Air Emissions Monitoring Study

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has received approval to take the next important step to gather air emissions data from agricultural animal feeding operations (AFOs) and to ensure compliance with environmental laws. This step consists of certain AFOs voluntarily taking part in a nationwide monitoring study to evaluate their air emissions.

“ The AFOs agreements bring us closer to ensuring clean air compliance across our nation,” said Granta Y. Nakayama, EPA’s assistant administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This innovative approach will provide the best available science to guide EPA’s decision making in a way that is good for the environment, good for agriculture, and good for the American people.”

EPA began to realize in the late 1990s that it did not have sufficient air emissions data to determine potential regulatory requirements for AFOs under the Clean Air Act, so to resolve the situation it began discussions with AFOs owners in 2001. These discussions led to a January 31, 2005 EPA Federal Register notice offering individual AFOs an opportunity to voluntarily sign a consent agreement committing them to conduct a nationwide study to monitor and get a better handle on the nature of their
air emissions.

EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board approved the two final voluntary agreements, making a total of 2,568, representing 1,856 swine, 468 dairy, 204 egg-laying, and 40 broiler chicken (meat-bird) operations. These 2,568 agreements represent 6,267 farms (an AFO can include more than one farm). Now the industry-led monitoring survey can proceed; it is expected to begin this winter.

Within 18 months following the monitoring study’s conclusion, EPA will evaluate all data and publish emission-estimating methods for AFOs. These methods will allow AFOs to estimate their emissions and comply with applicable federal regulatory requirements as appropriate.
This approach will achieve compliance with environmental laws much faster than any other enforcement mechanism.

Proposed Rule Change

EPA also recently announced a proposed rule that would revise several aspects of its current regulations governing discharges from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Agricultural groups challenged the original 2003 CAFO regulation in federal court, arguing that the Clean Water Act requires permits based on actual and not potential discharges. The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, and in 2005, it ruled that EPA only had the authority to regulate actual discharges, not the potential to discharge in the event of a rare, heavy storm. EPA says the proposed rule furthers the statutory goal of restoring and maintaining the nation’s water quality and effectively ensuring that CAFOs properly manage manure generated by their operations.

Proposed Revisions

The proposed rule specifically states that only CAFOs that discharge or propose to discharge wastewater in U.S. waterways are required to apply for a permit under EPA’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).

In addition, the ruling clarifies an exemption established by the Clean Water Act that CAFOs that land apply manure, litter, or processed wastewater do not need NPDES permits if the only discharge from those facilities is agricultural storm water. The agricultural storm water exemption would only apply if the CAFO has and is following a nutrient management plan.

However, CAFOs seeking coverage under a permit would be required to submit a nutrient management plan for the facility along with the permit application or notice of intent to apply. These plans would be available for public comment.

EPA is also proposing to remove the 100-year, 24-hour storm containment structure standard for new large poultry, swine, and veal facilities “due to the lack of record supporting this technology.” The standard will be replaced with a zero discharge requirement.

Additionally, EPA proposes to clarify its selection of Best Conventional Pollutant Control Technology (BCT) for fecal coliform bacteria and to reaffirm its decision to set the BCT limitations for fecal coliform to be equal to the limits established in the 2003 CAFO rule.

Parts of this update were excerpted from an article that originally appeared in Poultry Times. Reprinted with permission.