# Presentation: 541760

## Dairies and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations: Environmental Concerns and Research Needs 

- USEPA, Region 9
- March 2004

## Overview

- Background
- Water Pollutants and Pathways
- Air Pollutants and Pathways
- Regulatory Approach
- Research Needs

## Roles

- US EPA, Region 9
*-**	**guidance and oversight **	*
- USDA Natural Resources      Conservation Service
*-**	**financial and technical assistance*
- California State Water Resources  Control Board & Regional Boards
*permitting authority and implementation*

## California Statistics

***We’re #1, 2, ...!***
- #1  Dairy cows (1.5 Million)
- #1  Milk production (32 Billion lbs)
- #1  Yogurt, most ice cream
- #2  Cheese production
- #5  Egg production
- #6  Turkey production

## Why is EPA interested in Animal Feeding Operations?

- Surface Water
*Agricultural operations, including animal feeding operations (AFOs), are the leading contributor to water quality impairments in the nation’s rivers, lakes, and reservoirs *
-  Ground Water
*Over application of nutrients can contaminate underground sources of drinking water*
- Air Quality
*Emissions from AFOs, although not fully understood, are believed to affect ambient air quality and climate change   *

## Water Pollutants 

- Nutrients
- phosphorus, nitrogen*** ***
- Nitrates and ammonia
- Organic matter, solids, pathogens
- Salts, trace metals, pesticides, antibiotics, and hormones

## Potential Water Quality Impacts

-    Surface waters can be affected by runoff from improper land application, 	inadequate storm water containment, and unintended spills.
*Algal blooms and eutrophication (phosphorus)*
*Fish kills (ammonia and organic matter).  Reduces or depletes oxygen levels.  From 1981 and 1999, 19 states reported 4 million fish killed caused by CAFOs*
*Pathogens – disease causing organisms.  Over 150 pathogens found in manure are associated with risks to humans*

## Other Potential Impacts

- 	Contamination of ground water
*-**	**Leaching of nitrates from over application at land application areas or poorly designed storage structures*
*-**	**High nitrate levels in ground water pose health risks to infants and pregnant women.  *
- 	Salts
*-**	**Excessive salts in the soil can reduce crop yields and soil fertility; potentially impacts to ground water*
- 	Pesticides, antibiotics, and hormones
*-**	**impacts to water quality not fully understood -- more research needed*

## Possible Water Pollution Pathways

- Surface runoff and erosion
- Overflows from storage ponds
- Excess application of nutrients/manure   to land
- Leaching into soil and ground water

## Slide 10

## Air Pollutants and Possible Pathways

-  Anaerobic lagoon
*Methane (climate change)*
*Hydrogen Sulfide (odors, toxic)*
*Ammonia? (fine particulates)*
- Other parts of the dairy
*Volatile Organic Compounds? (ozone)*
*Ammonia? (fine particulates)*
- Unpaved Roads
*Particulate Matter*
- *	*There is uncertainty about the amount of air pollutants from an AFO*

## Regulatory Process - Tools

- Clean Water Act
*Prevent discharges to surface waters*
- Safe Drinking Water Act
*Standards for drinking water (out of the tap)*
*Limited protection of “underground sources of drinking water”*
- Clean Air Act
*Requires “State Implementation Plans” for areas that have not met air quality standards*

## CAFOs in Pacific South West

- California
- 	Central Valley: 1000 dairies, 200 poultry
- 	Chino:  250-275 dairies
- 	Other:  50-75 dairies, egg layers, feedlots
- Arizona
- 	75-100 – dairies, feedlots
- Nevada
- 	10-15 – dairies, feedlots
- Hawaii/Pacific Islands/Tribal Lands
- 	2 – dairies

## What’s a CAFO?

- Animal Feeding Operation
*Confines animals for 45 days in 12 months and*
*Sustains no vegetation in confinement area*
_*Concentrated*_ Animal Feeding Operation
*Defined by size of operation  *
- e.g., 700 mature dairy cows
*Smaller facilities can be designated a CAFO*

## Federal CAFO Requirements

- Permit required for all CAFOs by April 2006
- Nutrient Management Plan required by December 2006
*	**balances nutrients applied with crop needs*

## Research Needs

- What are ...
*the air pollutants (especially volatile organic compounds and ammonia)? *
*the sources (e.g., animal housing, corral, storage pond, land application site)? *
*emission rates from AFO operations?*

## Research Needs

- What metrics, methods, and models should we use in the future to quantify and monitor these emissions?
- What is their relationship to atmospheric deposition and the formation of ground-level Ozone and PM 2.5?

## Research Needs

- What are the most effective strategies and practices for minimizing the movement of pollutants from an CAFO into ...
- 		surface waters,
- 		ground waters,
- 		and the atmosphere?

## Research Needs

- What are the best alternative uses of manure, *other than land application*, and what are the impacts on  ...
*-**	**health and the environment, and *
*-**	**costs and ease of implementation of the alternative uses.*

## More information...

- Web sites:
*CAFO regulations and outreach materials:** *
_*[www.epa.gov/npdes/caforule](http://www.epa.gov/npdes/caforule)*_
_*[http://www.epa.gov/region09/cross_pr/ animalwaste/index.html](http://www.epa.gov/region09/cross_pr/animalwaste/index.html)*_
- Contact information:
*John Ungvarsky*
*	**415-972-3963*
*	*_*[ungvarsky.john@epa.gov](mailto:ungvarsky.john@epa.gov)*_