Code of Maine Rules › 01 - DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, CONSERVATION AND FORESTRY › 001 - AGRICULTURE - GENERAL › Chapter 565 - Nutrient Management Rules › ATTACHMENTS › Attachment E - EPA Definition of a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
EPA Definition of a Concentrated Animal Feeding
					 Operation1
2.2 Animal and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
A facility (e.g., farm, livestock market) that houses
					 animals must meet both of the following criteria to be considered an animal
					 feeding operation [ 40 CFR
					 122.23(b)(1) ]. The facility
					 must:
[x] Stable, confine, and feed or maintain animals for a
					 total of 45 days or more in any 12-month period; and
[x] Not sustain crops, vegetation forage growth, or
					 post-harvest residues in the normal growing season over any portion of the
					 facility.
The first part of this definition means that animals must
					 be kept on the lot or facility for a minimum of 45 days. However, it does not
					 mean that the
same
animals must remain on the lot for
					 45 days or more; only that
some
animals are fed or
					 maintained on the lot 45 days out of any 12-month period. The 45 days do not
					 have to be consecutive, nor does the 12-month period have to correspond to the
					 calendar year. For example, the 12-month period may be counted from June 1 to
					 the following May 31.
The regulations give the permitting authority a fair amount
					 of discretion under 40 CFR
					 122.23(b)(1); EPA interprets
					 "maintained" to mean that the animals are confined in an area where waste is
					 generated and/or concentrated. Maintained also can mean that the animals in the
					 confined area are watered, cleaned, groomed or medicated. This interpretation
					 allows the permitting authority to regulate animal operations such as dairy
					 farms, stockyards, and auction houses where animals may not be fed, but are
					 confined temporarily. The important consideration in this interpretation is the
					 waste is generated in an area where animals are concentrated.
The second part of the definition distinguishes feedlots
					 from pasture land, which is not subject to the NPDES program. This part of the
					 definition narrows the geographic scope of the regulations to the portion of
					 the facility where animals are confined and where natural forage or planted
					 vegetation does not occur during the normal growing season (for that geographic
					 area). Feedlots with constructed floors, such as solid concrete or metal slats,
					 clearly satisfy this part of the definition. Other feedlots may have open dirt
					 areas. These "open dirt" feedlots may have some vegetative growth along the
					 edges while animals are present or during months when animals are kept
					 elsewhere. EPA interprets the regulations to mean that if a facility maintains
					 animals in an area without vegetation, including dirt lots, the facility meets
					 the second part of the definition.
A concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) is an
animal feeding operation
(i.e., it meets the two
					 criteria above) and also meets the animal numbers and polllutant discharge
					 criteria provided by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency in 40 CFR Parts
					 9, 122, and 412-Revised National Guidelines for Concentrated Animal Feeding
					 Operations in Response to the Waterkeeper Decision: Final Rule Dated December
					 22, 2008.
1An animal feeding operation
					 that meets the EPA definition of a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation as
					 provided by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency in 40 CFR Parts 9, 122
					 and 412 - Revised National Guidelines for Concentrated Animal Feeding
					 Operations in Response to the Waterkeeper Decision; Final Rule dated December
					 22, 2008.