I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 684

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to control water pollution

from concentrated animal feeding operations, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 10, 1999

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California (for himself, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mrs.

TAUSCHER, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. STARK, Ms. RIVERS, and Mr. MEEHAN)

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on

Transportation and Infrastructure

A BILL

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to control

water pollution from concentrated animal feeding operations, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Farm Sustainability

5 and Animal Feedlot Enforcement Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds the following:
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1 (1) Discharges and runoff from concentrated

2 animal feeding operations are a major source of

3 water pollution in many watersheds.

4 (2) An outbreak of cryptosporidium in Wiscon5 sin, which killed more than 100 people, and out6 breaks of Pfiesteria piscicida in the coastal waters of

7 North Carolina and Maryland, which killed millions

8 of fish and sickened dozens of people, have been

9 linked to contaminants associated with animal feed10 ing operations.

11 (3) Current controls on water pollution from

12 concentrated animal feeding operations are inad13 equate to control surface discharges and do not ade14 quately protect ground water.

15 (4) Additional controls on all forms of water

16 pollution resulting from concentrated animal feeding

17 operations are needed to protect the public health,

18 water quality, and fisheries of the United States.

19 (5) Alternatives to animal waste containment

20 lagoons exist, and the use of these alternatives would

21 better protect the public health and the waters of

22 the United States from pollution.

23 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

24 The purposes of this Act are to protect the public

25 health, water quality, and fisheries of the United States
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1 by establishing appropriate controls on water pollution

2 from concentrated animal feeding operations.

3 SEC. 4. PERMITS.

4 Section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control

5 Act (33 U.S.C. 1342) is amended by adding at the end

6 the following:

7 ‘‘(q) CONCENTRATED ANIMAL FEEDING OPER8 ATIONS.—

9 ‘‘(1) CONCENTRATED ANIMAL FEEDING OPER10 ATION DEFINED.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In this subsection, the

12 term ‘concentrated animal feeding operation’

13 means any livestock or poultry feeding oper14 ation (including a dairy) that—

15 ‘‘(i)(I) collects animal waste for dis16 posal, storage, treatment, or application

17 with a mechanical or flushing system or by

18 other means;

19 ‘‘(II) confines animals for 45 consecu20 tive days or more during any 1-year pe21 riod; and

22 ‘‘(III) has a regulatory threshold ca23 pacity; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) contributes to the degradation of

2 a watershed as a result of a discharge of

3 pollutants.

4 The term includes all structures and land used

5 for the collection, storage, treatment, stock6 piling, or application of animal waste from such

7 an operation.

8 ‘‘(B) REGULATORY THRESHOLD CAPAC9 ITY.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), an

10 operation has a regulatory threshold capacity if

11 the sum of the capacity fractions for each class

12 of animal is at least 1.0.

13 ‘‘(C) CAPACITY FRACTION.—For purposes

14 of subparagraph (B), the term ‘capacity frac15 tion’ means, with respect to each class of ani16 mal, the fraction—

17 ‘‘(i) the numerator of which is the ca18 pacity of the operation for such class of

19 animal, and

20 ‘‘(ii) the denominator of which is the

21 specified capacity for such class of animal.

22 ‘‘(D) CLASSES OF ANIMAL; SPECIFIED CA23 PACITIES.—The classes of animals and the

24 specified capacity for each such class shall be

25 determined in accordance with the following
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1 table:

‘‘Classes of animals: Specified capacity:

Slaughter steers and heifers .......... 500

Mature dairy cattle ........................ 350

Swine weighing over 55 pounds

each.

1,000

Sheep ............................................. 5,000

Turkeys .......................................... 27,500

Laying hens and broilers ............... 50,000

Horses ............................................ 300.

2 ‘‘(E) SPECIAL RULE FOR COMMON OWNER3 SHIP.—All operations that are within the same

4 watershed shall be treated as one operation for

5 purposes of this paragraph if the animals con6 fined at such operations are under common

7 ownership or control or if such operations are

8 under common ownership or control.

9 ‘‘(2) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection,

10 the following definitions apply:

11 ‘‘(A) ANIMAL OWNER.—The term ‘animal

12 owner’ means the person that has the primary

13 ownership interest in an animal or a person

14 who has a controlling, contractual, or beneficial

15 interest in an animal confined at a concentrated

16 animal feeding operation, including an employee

17 or agent of the person.

18 ‘‘(B) ANIMAL WASTE.—The term ‘animal

19 waste’ means the excreta or other waste of ani20 mals confined at a concentrated animal feeding

21 operation, including litter, bedding, a dead ani-
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1 mal, a composted animal carcass, or other re2 sidual organic matter from a concentrated feed3 ing operation.

4 ‘‘(C) CONTAINMANT STRUCTURE.—The

5 term ‘containmant structure’ means a lagoon,

6 pit, tank, or other structure used to receive and

7 store animal waste, regardless of the length of

8 time the waste remains in the structure.

9 ‘‘(D) DISCHARGE.—The term ‘discharge’

10 or ‘discharge of pollutants’ includes the release,

11 directly or indirectly to the waters of the United

12 States, of animal waste or nutrients, minerals,

13 metals, or other substances derived from animal

14 waste or any combination thereof.

15 ‘‘(3) GENERAL RULE.—Except in compliance

16 with the terms of a permit issued under this section,

17 it is unlawful to discharge pollutants from a con18 centrated animal feeding operation.

19 ‘‘(4) PERMITS.—

20 ‘‘(A) EXISTING PERMITS.—Any con21 centrated animal feeding operation operating on

22 the date of the enactment of this Act under a

23 permit issued under this section may continue

24 to operate under the terms of the permit until

25 the permit expires.
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1 ‘‘(B) PERMITS REQUIRED FOR ALL OPER2 ATIONS.—After the last day of the 18-month

3 period beginning on the date of the enactment

4 of this subsection, it shall be unlawful to oper5 ate a concentrated animal feeding operation ex6 cept in compliance with an individual permit

7 issued under this section to the person respon8 sible for the day-to-day operations of the oper9 ation.

10 ‘‘(C) MONITORING AND RECORD11 KEEPING.—Permits issued or renewed for a

12 concentrated animal feeding operation under

13 this section shall, at a minimum, specify the

14 surface and ground water monitoring, record15 keeping, and reporting requirements necessary

16 to ensure that no discharge of pollutants is oc17 curring from the operation.

18 ‘‘(D) NEW REQUIREMENTS FOR PER19 MITS.—After the date of the enactment of this

20 subsection, a permit issued or renewed for a

21 concentrated animal feeding operation under

22 this section shall require that the operator of

23 the operation operate in conformance with—
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1 ‘‘(i) applicable effluent limitations

2 adopted or revised under section 301, 302,

3 or 304;

4 ‘‘(ii) applicable standards of perform5 ance adopted under section 306; and

6 ‘‘(iii) after the last day of the 18-

7 month period beginning on the date of the

8 publication of guidance under paragraph

9 (5), a comprehensive nutrient management

10 plan approved under paragraph (5).

11 ‘‘(E) REOPENER CLAUSE.—Any permit

12 issued or renewed for a concentrated animal

13 feeding operation after the date of the enact14 ment of this subsection but before the last day

15 of the 18-month period beginning on the date

16 of the publication of guidance under paragraph

17 (5) shall contain a clause stating that the per18 mit is not valid after such day unless the per19 mit is amended to incorporate a comprehensive

20 nutrient management plan approved under

21 paragraph (5).

22 ‘‘(5) COMPREHENSIVE NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT

23 PLANS.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not more than 2

25 years after the date of the enactment of this
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1 subsection, the Administrator, in consultation

2 with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall publish

3 detailed guidance on the preparation and imple4 mentation of comprehensive nutrient manage5 ment plans for concentrated animal feeding op6 erations. Such guidance shall establish the re7 quired elements of a comprehensive nutrient

8 management plan and establish technical stand9 ards for each element.

10 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—The re11 quired elements of a comprehensive nutrient

12 management plan for a concentrated animal

13 feeding operation shall include at least—

14 ‘‘(i) the names, addresses, and tele15 phone numbers of the operator of the oper16 ation;

17 ‘‘(ii) the location, including latitude

18 and longitude, and number of acres of the

19 operation;

20 ‘‘(iii) a map indicating the general

21 layout of the operation, including the loca22 tion of each building or other structure,

23 the location of all portions of the contain24 ment system, the location and flow of any

25 surface water, the location of water supply
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1 wells, and the direction and degree of all

2 grades within the property lines of the op3 eration;

4 ‘‘(iv) a certification by the operator

5 that the operator will be responsible for

6 and will ensure compliance with the com7 prehensive nutrient management plan and

8 the requirements of this Act;

9 ‘‘(v) a certification by the operator

10 that the operator will maintain records of

11 ownership of any animals confined at the

12 operation that are not owned by the opera13 tor and that the operator will notify each

14 such owner of the potential joint liability of

15 the animal owner as provided under para16 graph (7) if the operator violates the terms

17 of the permit or the requirements of this

18 Act with respect to a discharge from the

19 operation;

20 ‘‘(vi) an estimate of the annual animal

21 production and the annual quantity of each

22 type of animal waste produced by the oper23 ation;
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1 ‘‘(vii) the crop or vegetative cover

2 schedule for any agricultural lands owned

3 or leased by the operator;

4 ‘‘(viii) information necessary to deter5 mine the land area required for the appli6 cation of animal waste from the operation

7 as determined in accordance with the re8 quirements of this Act, including para9 graph (8), and any crop or vegetative cover

10 schedule specified in the plan;

11 ‘‘(ix) a schedule for periodic testing of

12 soil nutrient levels;

13 ‘‘(x) a schedule for periodic testing of

14 animal waste nutrient levels;

15 ‘‘(xi) information necessary to deter16 mine the land area available to the opera17 tor for application of animal waste, includ18 ing copies of deeds of title and written

19 agreements for use of lands not owned by

20 the operator for application of animal

21 waste;

22 ‘‘(xii) if methods of disposal for ani23 mal waste other than land application by

24 or on behalf of the operator will be used,

25 a description of those methods and the an-
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1 nual quantity of animal waste to be dis2 posed of by each of these methods;

3 ‘‘(xiii) a description of the methods,

4 structures, or practices that the operator

5 will use to prevent soil loss, surface water

6 pollution and ground water pollution while

7 minimizing odors and pests caused by ani8 mal waste during collection, storage, and

9 application;

10 ‘‘(xiv) technical specifications for the

11 design and construction of containment

12 systems that the operator will use;

13 ‘‘(xv) a description of methods, proce14 dures, and practices that the operator will

15 use for—

16 ‘‘(I) operation, monitoring, main17 tenance, and inspection of animal

18 waste storage operations; and

19 ‘‘(II) handling, transportation,

20 application, and treatment of animal

21 waste, including storage volume,

22 schedules for emptying storage oper23 ations, and application schedules,

24 rates, and locations;
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1 ‘‘(xvi) a description of contingency

2 measures that the operator will use to min3 imize environmental pollution resulting

4 from any unexpected waste leak or dis5 charge;

6 ‘‘(xvii) a description of practices and

7 procedures that the operator will use for

8 maintaining records detailing compliance

9 with the comprehensive nutrient manage10 ment plan and this Act; and

11 ‘‘(xviii) any additional requirements,

12 on a State-by-State or county-by-county

13 basis, imposed by a Federal, State, or local

14 law (including a regulation).

15 ‘‘(C) SUBMISSION OF PROPOSED PLANS.—

16 An operator of a concentrated animal feeding

17 operation who is seeking a permit under this

18 section shall develop a comprehensive nutrient

19 management plan for the operation, and submit

20 that plan to the Administrator for approval,

21 under this paragraph.

22 ‘‘(D) PLAN APPROVAL.—Within 60 days of

23 the receipt of a proposed comprehensive nutri24 ent management plan, the Administrator shall

25 approve or disapprove that plan. The Adminis-
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1 trator shall approve a proposed plan if (i) it

2 contains the elements required under subpara3 graph (B), (ii) it is consistent with guidance

4 published by the Administrator under subpara5 graph (A), (iii) it conforms to technical stand6 ards published pursuant to this paragraph, and

7 (iv) the Administrator has conducted an onsite

8 inspection of the operation and determined that

9 the plan is appropriate for the operation. The

10 Administrator shall notify the applicant, in

11 writing, of the approval or disapproval of a

12 plan, including the reasons for any disapproval.

13 ‘‘(E) REVISION OF GUIDANCE AND

14 PLANS.—From time to time, but not less than

15 every 5 years, the Administrator shall revise the

16 guidance for preparation of comprehensive nu17 trient management plans under this paragraph

18 to incorporate improvements in monitoring, rec19 ordkeeping, waste handling and disposal meth20 ods, and other plan elements as they become

21 technologically feasible and economically achiev22 able. Not later than 6 months after the publica23 tion of revised guidance under this subpara24 graph, the Administrator shall not approve a

25 comprehensive nutrient management plan under
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1 this paragraph unless it complies with the re2 vised guidance.

3 ‘‘(6) REVISION OF REGULATIONS.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years

5 after the date of the enactment of this sub6 section, the Administrator shall revise regula7 tions issued to carry out this Act to ensure that

8 concentrated animal feeding operations employ

9 the best available technology economically

10 achievable, or, in the case of new or expanded

11 concentrated animal feeding operations, the

12 best available demonstrated technology nec13 essary to achieve no discharge of pollutants.

14 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—Effluent

15 limitations for existing and new concentrated

16 animal feeding operations, standards of per17 formance for new concentrated animal feeding

18 operations, and pretreatment standards for new

19 and existing concentrated animal feeding oper20 ations revised pursuant to this paragraph shall,

21 at a minimum—

22 ‘‘(i) require, within 3 years after the

23 date of the enactment of this subsection,

24 that new containment structures and waste

25 application systems be sited and con-
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1 structed to minimize the risk of discharges

2 of pollutants to the surface or ground wa3 ters of the United States;

4 ‘‘(ii) prohibit, within 5 years after

5 such date of enactment, the use of unlined

6 containment structures or the use of any

7 other containment structure that poses a

8 significant risk of pollution to surface or

9 ground water due to the location or con10 struction of such structure;

11 ‘‘(iii) eliminate, within 10 years of

12 such date of enactment, open-air lagoons

13 for the storage of animal waste;

14 ‘‘(iv) eliminate discharges of pollut15 ants to surface and ground water;

16 ‘‘(v) eliminate the atmospheric deposi17 tion of nutrients derived from concentrated

18 animal feeding operations to waters of the

19 United States;

20 ‘‘(vi) significantly reduce the liquid

21 content of wastes; and

22 ‘‘(vii) promote technologies and pro23 duction practices that minimize the need

24 for large-scale storage of animal waste.

25 ‘‘(7) LIABILITY OF ANIMAL OWNERS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the operator of a

2 concentrated animal feeding operation is liable

3 for a civil penalty imposed under section 309

4 with respect to a violation of this Act or a per5 mit issued under this Act for a discharge from

6 the operation, each owner of an animal confined

7 at the operation during the period of violation

8 shall be jointly liable, subject to subparagraph

9 (B), for such penalty.

10 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The joint liability of

11 the owner of an animal confined at a con12 centrated animal feeding operation under this

13 paragraph shall be equal to the amount deter14 mined by multiplying the amount of the civil

15 penalty imposed on the operator of the oper16 ation by the ratio that the number of animals

17 owned by the owner and confined at the oper18 ation during the period of the violation bears to

19 the total number of animals confined at the op20 eration during such period.

21 ‘‘(C) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator

22 shall issue such regulations and take such ac23 tions as may be necessary to implement this

24 subsection, including such regulations and ac25 tions as may be necessary to ensure each owner
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1 of an animal confined at the operation receives

2 the same notice and opportunity for a hearing

3 with respect to imposition of any liability under

4 this paragraph as the operator of the operation

5 receives with respect to imposition of such li6 ability under section 309.

7 ‘‘(8) ANIMAL WASTE CONTROL.—

8 ‘‘(A) MAXIMUM LEVELS FOR NITROGEN

9 AND PHOSPHORUS.—The application of animal

10 waste to land by a person shall be considered

11 a discharge of pollutants for purposes of this

12 subsection if (taking into account all sources of

13 nutrients, including commercial fertilizer) the

14 application of animal waste would result in the

15 application of nitrogen or phosphorus in a

16 quantity that exceeds the reasonably anticipated

17 agronomic nutrient uptake of the vegetative

18 cover growing or to be grown on the land.

19 ‘‘(B) MAXIMUM LEVELS FOR OTHER SUB20 STANCES.—

21 ‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Adminis22 trator, in consultation with the Secretary

23 of Agriculture, shall establish maximum

24 permitted levels for other nutrients, min25 erals, metals, or other substances found in
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1 animal waste whose presence in land above

2 the reasonably anticipated agronomic up3 take of the vegetative cover growing or to

4 be grown on the land would pose a signifi5 cant threat of pollution to surface or

6 ground water.

7 ‘‘(ii) EXCESS LEVELS.—The applica8 tion of animal waste to land by any person

9 shall be considered a discharge of pollut10 ants for purposes of this subsection if fol11 lowing the application of the animal waste

12 the level of a substance referred to in

13 clause (i) would exceed the maximum per14 missible level established for the substance

15 by the Administrator.

16 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION OF WASTE TO LAND.—

17 ‘‘(i) AERIAL SPRAYING.—The Admin18 istrator shall establish minimum distances

19 from residences and environmentally sen20 sitive locations (including distances from

21 surface water, water supply wells, wetlands

22 not used for water treatment purposes,

23 floodplains, and the drainage areas of

24 drainage wells, drainage ditches, tile drain25 age lines, and subsurface drainage inlets)
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1 within which animal waste shall not be ap2 plied by aerial spraying. Any application by

3 aerial spraying within the minimum dis4 tances established under this subparagraph

5 shall be considered a discharge of pollut6 ants for purposes of this subsection.

7 ‘‘(ii) OTHER RESTRICTIONS.—The Ad8 ministrator may establish other restrictions

9 on aerial spraying (including a prohibition

10 on aerial spraying) that minimize the po11 tential of water pollution from animal

12 waste.

13 ‘‘(iii) OTHER APPLICATIONS.—The

14 application of animal waste to ice, snow,

15 frozen soil, or water saturated soil shall be

16 considered to be a discharge of pollutants

17 for purposes of this subsection.

18 ‘‘(D) CONTAINMENT OF ALL WASTE.—Any

19 containment structure for animal waste shall

20 retain all animal waste produced by the oper21 ation between applications, including runoff

22 that runs through or into any area or structure

23 in which animal waste is present.
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1 ‘‘(E) CONTAINMENT SYSTEM FOR WET

2 WASTE OPERATIONS.—The containment system

3 for a wet waste operation shall include—

4 ‘‘(i) emergency shutoff devices that

5 are designed and placed in a manner that

6 ensures the fastest practicable containment

7 of animal waste in the event of an unex8 pected leakage or other discharge; and

9 ‘‘(ii) failsafe structures that will con10 tain, in the event that a containment struc11 ture breaches or overflows, a minimum

12 quantity of animal waste equal to the max13 imum quantity loaded into the containment

14 structure in any 48-hour period.

15 ‘‘(F) DISCONTINUATION OF USE OF ANI16 MAL WASTE STORAGE STRUCTURES.—An opera17 tor that ceases use of an animal waste storage

18 structure shall, not later than 180 days after

19 the date on which use of the structure ceases,

20 remove and dispose of all animal waste from

21 the structure in accordance with this Act.

22 ‘‘(G) APPLICATION OF ANIMAL WASTE ON

23 OTHER LAND.—Before applying animal waste

24 from a concentrated animal feeding operation

25 on land other than land owned by the animal
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1 owner or operator of the operation, the animal

2 owner, and the owner of the land where the

3 waste will be applied shall execute a written

4 agreement that includes such terms and condi5 tions as are necessary to ensure that the waste

6 is applied in accordance with this subsection.

7 ‘‘(9) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this sub8 section shall prevent the Administrator, or a State

9 in any case in which the State is administering a

10 State permit program under this section, from es11 tablishing more stringent requirements, including

12 the denial of permits under this section for new or

13 expanded concentrated animal feeding operations.’’.

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