EPA Issues Rules Impacting Livestock

November 26, 2008 — 

The final CAFO (confined animal feeding operations) manure discharge rule will become effective Dec. 22 following publication in the Federal Register on Nov. 20. EPA set the date for compliance as Feb. 27, 2009, the same date as an earlier extension of the rule.

The final rule revises some provisions of the existing rule to comply with a 2005 court ruling in the Waterkeepers Alliance challenge. The rule, as now published, provides for options for those CAFOs that will not discharge waste into waters governed by the federal Clean Water Act and applies to facilities of any size.

Those facilities that do not discharge manure into U.S. waters are not required to have a federal permit but must follow sound management practices to avoid discharges or face stiff penalties up to $32,500 per day. Most states still require zero-discharge farms to obtain a state water quality permit, however. National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits and Nutrient Management Plans (NMP) continue to be required for CAFOs that will discharge. The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) has additional information regarding compliance with the CAFO rule on their web site.

While NPPC called the water discharge rule "tough but fair," they are taking the agency to task over a proposed rule to regulate dust levels on farms. NPPC is joining the American Farm Bureau, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and others in asking the U.S. Court of Appeals to strike down the ruling on particulate matter. The groups argue, among other things, that EPA does not have the authority to set a standard given their admission that the agency lacks sufficient scientific evidence that non-urban coarse particulate matter is harmful to public health.

As part of the Clean Air Act's National Ambient Air Quality Standards, the rule would designate livestock operations as stationary air emissions sources thus requiring producers to obtain emissions permits under federal and state laws. This would require producers to monitor particulate matter such as road dust and ammonia levels according to NPPC.

Finally, EPA is also considering a greenhouse gas rule to cover emitters of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides. According to the American Farm Bureau (AFB), this proposal would tax livestock producers for their animals' "emissions". AFB expresses concern that the clean air act covers any emitters of 100-tons or more of carbon-equivalent a year, forcing more than 90-percent of the U.S. dairy, beef and pork industry to get permits at an estimated cost of $175 a dairy cow, $87.50 for each head of beef cattle, and $20 for each hog.