EPA Announces New Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) Rules

Farm Business Management Update, February/March 2003

By Jim Pease

In December 2002, EPA announced new regulations for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). These regulations replace 25-year old technology requirements and permitting regulations and are the product of a multi-year rule making procedure spanning two presidential administrations. Under the new rules, approximately 15,500 livestock operations are expected to have to apply for the same type of permit as required for public wastewater treatment plants and industrial manufacturing facilities.

Animal feeding operations (AFOs) are agricultural businesses that keep and raise animals in confined situations. Feed is brought to the animals rather than the animals grazing or otherwise 'harvesting' the feed themselves. There are approximately 450,000 AFOs in the U.S. CAFOs are a subset of AFOs that are defined as point sources of pollution (primarily from nutrients and pathogens in manures) and, hence, subject to the permitting requirements of the U.S. Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act is the principal federal legislation protecting surface water quality in the U.S. The new legislation will require managers of all large CAFOs to apply for a permit, submit an annual report, and implement a plan they have developed to dispose of manure and wastewater. The rule attempts to eliminate current exemptions from permit requirements if the CAFO discharges pollutants only in the event of a major storm, it eliminates the current exemption for dry manure handling systems (like Virginia's litter-based poultry systems), and it extends coverage to immature swine and dairy heifers. Under previous regulations approximately 4,500 operations were defined as CAFOs, although less than 2,500 operations had permits under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program of the Clean Water Act.

Any AFO, if found to be a significant contributor of pollutants, can be designated as a point source of pollution and, hence, be required to seek a permit to continue operation. Regulatory definitions for small, medium, and large CAFOs are based on (1) size thresholds, and (2) operations and environmental impact considerations. Large CAFOs are defined solely on size thresholds, i.e. if the number of animals in the operations exceeds the threshold, it is considered a large CAFO, and management will be required to seek a permit. If the number of animals falls in the medium range, it may be defined as a CAFO if the operation: (1) has a man-made conveyance carrying manure or wastewater to surface water, or (2) animals come into contact with surface water passing through the confinement area. The size thresholds for large and medium CAFOs include the following:

	Size Threshold (number of animals)
Animal Sector	Large (greater or equal to)	Medium
Cattle	1,000	300 - 999
Mature dairy cows	700	200 - 699
Hogs over 55 lbs.	2,500	750 - 2,499
Hogs under 55 lbs.	10,000	3,000 - 9,999
Turkeys	55,000	16,500 - 54,999
Layers/Broilers (liquid manure system)	30,000	7,000 - 29,999
Broilers (dry system)	125,000	37,500 - 124,999
Layers (dry system)	30,000	10,000 - 29,999
Horses	500	150 - 499

As soon as an operation exceeds the number specified for a large CAFO, a permit for operations is required. If the operation falls in the medium range, it would seem that the two indicated conditions would not likely be violated thus causing the AFO to become subject to the CAFO permitting process. However, there is a twist: the regulations define manure application not in compliance with acceptable management practices to be a 'manmade conveyance' or discharge to surface water. In other words, the medium-sized operations must follow certain manure handling guidelines to avoid regulation as a CAFO.

Another critical new element of the regulations is elimination of the exemption that allowed most livestock operations to escape permitting. Most states, including Virginia, currently define a CAFO as an operation that does not have enough manure storage to handle the rainfall from a very large storm (once in 25 years, 24-hour rainfall). If the operation has at least that much storage, it will not be regulated as a CAFO. Therefore, Virginia has no CAFO's under the regulatory program (VPDES) that the state administers for EPA. Instead, the Virginia Pollution Abatement (VPA) program implements state law requiring permits of all operations with 300 or more animal units (200 animal units for poultry).

Major elements in (or not in) the new CAFO regulations include:

• Removing the 25-year, 24-hour permitting exemption, all CAFO management must apply for a permit. Newly defined CAFOs under these regulations will be allowed until December 2006 to comply with provisions of their permit.
• CAFO management must develop and implement nutrient management plans, but such plans are not required to be prepared by a certified nutrient management planner. There are also no national prohibitions on applying manure to frozen, snow-covered, or saturated soils.
• CAFO management must submit an annual report to the permitting authority (Virginia DEQ).
• Only managers of large CAFOs must keep records of manure transferred to another party and give the recipient a manure analysis. There are no requirements established for recipients of manure.
• Eliminating the animal unit (AU) and "mixed animal" calculation. CAFO size thresholds are specific for each type of animal, but if an AFO is defined or designated as a CAFO, regulations will apply to all animals on the farm.
• Eliminating the exemption for poultry dry manure handling operations.
• Explicitly defines a cow/calf unit as one animal until the calf is weaned.
• Retains the technology requirement that manure storage must be sufficient to contain runoff from a 25-year, 24-hour storm for all existing operations and for new beef or dairy operations.
• Establishes the technology requirement that manure storage must be sufficient to contain runoff from a 100-year, 24-hour storm for any new swine, poultry, or veal operations.
• Establishes a voluntary program (in place of the technology requirements of the regular permit) based on innovative technology to stimulate environmental performance better than achieved by the conventional requirements.
• Does not require co-permitting of contract growers and integrators/processors.
• Does not establish any new national ground water requirements.

EPA estimates that nutrient pollution from CAFOs will be reduced by 166 million pounds per year (23%) and pathogen pollution reduced by 46% through compliance with the new regulations. The total annualized compliance costs for CAFOs are estimated to be $326 million, and that the social benefits from the regulations for water uses such as recreation and drinking water will total between $204 million to $355 million. EPA estimates that the following number and types of AFOs will be permitted under the new CAFO regulations:

Animal Sector	Large CAFOs	Medium CAFOs
Fed Cattle	1,766	174
Veal	12	230
Heifer	242	7
Dairy	1,450	1,949
Hogs	3,924	1,485
Broilers	1,632	520
Layers: Dry Manure	729	26
Layers: Wet Manure	383	24
Turkeys	388	37
TOTAL	10,526	4,452

It is impossible to estimate how many Virginia AFOs will be required to seek a permit under the revised regulations rather than under the VPA permit system. The proposed regulations issued by EPA in 2001 estimated 216 Virginia AFOs with more than 1,000 animal units, and 551 AFOs with 300-1,000 animal units, but it appears that all estimates of existing operations affected have been changed from those of the proposed regulations.

States are given considerable flexibility in determining the specific requirements of CAFO permits. Considering that VPA permits already include many provisions more restrictive than the national regulations, it is likely that few Virginia operations will be seriously affected by compliance with the national regulations. Senator Watkins has already introduced SB896 in the Virginia General Assembly to begin the process of modifying state permitting programs to comply with the new national standards. For more information on the new regulations, see the EPA Web site at http://cfpub2.epa.gov/npdes/afo/cafofinalrule.cfm?program_id=7.

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