Washington-The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in early June agreed to gather information about Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) to determine whether more should be regulated as part of a settlement with environmental groups concerned about water pollution, according to the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA). The Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, and Waterkeeper Alliance filed a case with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit claiming EPA gave too much discretion to farm operators in determining which farms needed permits to discharge waste into waterways. In the settlement, EPA agreed to release a guidance document that would clarify which CAFOs would need to apply for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits under its 2008 final rule. EPA will propose a new rule that would require all CAFO owners or operators to submit to the agency specific data about the number and types of animals that are being raised, the quantity of manure generated, the type and capacity of manure storage, and the method used to dispose of the manure. This information would be collected every five years and would be made publicly available. EPA said it would take final action on the proposed rule within two years, and will also seek public comments as part of that process. According to ARA, EPA defines CAFOs as farms with any of the following: 700 dairy cows; 1,000 veal calves; 1,000 cattle; 2,500 swine weighing more than 55 pounds or 10,000 swine weighing less than 55 pounds; 10,000 sheep or lambs; 55,000 turkeys; and between 30,000 and 125,000 chickens, depending on the manure handling system used. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report estimates that a single dairy farm that meets EPA’s minimum large CAFO threshold of 700 dairy cows produces around 17,800 tons of manure a year, compared to the 16,000 tons of sanitary waste that it takes a city of 24,000 residents to annually generate.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain