Court Upholds NPPC CAFO Challenge

July 12, 2006 — 

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) challenged a rule proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2003 that required concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) over a certain size to obtain National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits and to develop nutrient management plans.

NPPC argued that the Clean Water Act requires NPDES permits only for producers who discharge. In July, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit supported the NPPC opinion and confirmed that discharges of manure applied to land as agricultural runoff, not as stormwater discharges subject to Clean Water Act regulation. The court ordered EPA to revise the 2003 rule.

Source:
NPPC