Updated 12/1 1 /09



## Compliance and Enforcement National Priority: Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)

The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) established several national pr iorities for federal fiscal years (FY) 2008 through 2010. Among these priorities, OECA and the ten EPA Regions continue to make concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) a Clean Water Act (CWA) priority for compliance monitoring, compliance assistanc e, and enforcement through at least FY 2010.

CAFOs have been regulated under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program since the mid

- 1970s. In February 2003, EPA promulgated new CAFO regulations to update the NPDES program and prevent environmental harm from these operations through better animal waste management. The 2003 regulation s required all CAFOs

to seek NPDES permit coverage . Because of the 2005 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for

the Second Circuit in Waterkeepe r v. EPA (399 F.3d 486), EPA can only require CAFOs which discharge or propose to discharge to apply for a NPDES permit. In November, 2008

, EPA revised its CAFO regulations regarding the submission of permit applications and the development of nutrient m anagement plans to address the Waterkeeper decision mandates.

Environmental Problem

An ongoing trend toward fewer but larger farm operations, more intensive animal production methods, and larger volumes of waste within small geographic areas have heigh tened CAFOs’ environmental and public health impacts. A ddition ally , many large operations do not have sufficient cropland necessary to properly apply all of the manure as fertilizer. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that operations which co nfine livestock and poultry animals generate about 500 million tons of manure annually

– three times EPA’s estimate of 150 million tons of human sanitary waste produced annually in the U.S. Under Section 305(b) of the CWA, states have consistently identif ied agricultural sources

- including CAFOs

- as a leading contributor of water quality impairment in state assessed surface waters.

Pollutants associated with animal waste primarily include nutrients

- mainly nitrogen and phosphorus

. However, animal wast e may also include organic matter, solids, pathogens, pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, salts and various trace elements (including metals).

I mproperly managed manure and wastewater can release pollutants into the environment through several pathways, su ch as through runoff from animal confinement areas, manure storage areas, and/or from cropland where manure is applied as fertilizer.Why OECA is Addressing the Problem

OECA continues to focus on CAFOs as a CWA national enforcement priority due in part to potential risks from CAFOs’ i nadequate manure management

, a pattern of CWA noncompliance in the industry, and the need for EPA leadership in implementing the federal CAFO regulations

. The 2005 Waterkeeper decision narrowed the universe of CAFOs r equired to obtain permits to those facilities that discharge, or propose to discharge. In addition to narrowing the scope of who is required to seek permits, EPA’s revised 2008 CAFO regulations and strategy clarify that the CWA and the federal regulations prohibit discharges from a CAFO, even one that is unplanned or accidental, unless it is authorized by the terms of a permit. Any facility that meets the regulatory definition of a “CAFO” as it was defined in the 1976 rule and discharges, needs a NPDES per mit now.

How the Problem will be Addressed

Because it is impossible for EPA to identify and address all CAFOs that have unauthorized discharges, the Agency, along with its state partners, will engage in strategically targeted inspections and enforcement actions. The Agency’s strategy is to have EPA Regions work closely with state partners to identify specific geographic areas where CAFOs are having, or may have, a serious environmental o r human health impact. EPA expects that the targeted CAFO

universe will generally consist of large and medium CAFOs that are discharging, or are designed, operated, or maintained such that a discharge to a water of the United States is likely to

occur.

EPA will continue to refine its understanding of the CAFO universe, improve targeting of compliance and enforcement activities to increase CAFO NPDES permit coverage and compliance, and assess and communicate the effectiveness of its actions. EPA believes ensuring CAFOs that need permits o btain them is critical to improv ing manure management and addressing the environmental problems associated with this industry.

EPA considers individual state commitments to CAFO permitting a critical component to achieving a level playing field

. EPA will seek to ensure that state NPDES programs are comparable to federal standards, CAFO permits are being issued, and CWA non

- compliance issues are being identified and remedied.

Federal efforts will also address CAFOs that have NPDES permits and are in violation of their permit requiremen ts. EPA ’s strategy seeks to ensure that CAFO permit coverage results in

proper manure management.Highlights from the Previous Cycle

EPA has established an internal national CAFO work group to provide a forum for discussing CAFO compliance and enfo rcement issues and identifying training needs. OECA has provided and continues to develop additional technical training to support EPA Regions in the development of CAFO CWA cases.

Through FY 2008, EPA has conducted over 1,100 inspections (EPA

- only inspe ctions and

EPA/ s tate joint inspections) and completed 244 federal enforcement actions against CAFOs for CWA violations. Federal enforcement actions have resulted in CAFOs spending more than 53

million dollars on corrective measures and a reduction of over 64 million pounds of pollutants that would have otherwise been discharged.

A number of EPA Regions are using a variety of sampling and modeling tools to develop cases against existing CAFOs with unauthorized discharges. Recent EPA enforcement actions re flect the high level of sophistication with which some Regions are conducting CAFO compliance investigations.