Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

How Do I Apply for Permit Coverage?

To apply for coverage under an NPDES CAFO permit, you must complete the appropriate forms by the specified deadlines and submit them to Ohio EPA with the application fee.

Mail the forms and application fee to

Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
Division of Surface Water
P.O. Box 1049
Columbus, OH 43216-1049

Application Fees

A check for $200.00 made payable to the Treasurer of the State of Ohio must be submitted along with the application forms.

Application Forms

The application forms are available below in PDF format and require the Adobe Acrobat™ reader. The reader can be downloaded at no cost from Adobe.

The forms identified as "fill-in" can be completed and saved using the free Adobe Acrobat™ reader (version 7.0 or later).

To apply for a CAFO NPDES permit from Ohio EPA, you must submit the following completed forms to the Ohio EPA Central Office:

• General Form 1 fill-in (PDF 89K)
• Form 2B fill-in (PDF 192K)
• Ohio EPA Antidegradation Addendum

Application Deadlines

The deadlines for applying for an NPDES CAFO permit depend on when the CAFO began or will begin operating.

1. Operations in existence before April 14, 2003, that are defined as CAFOs under the regulations that were in effect before that date must submit an application for an individual permit immediately, or an application for coverage under a general permit by no later than 30 days after the issuance of the general permit. Such operations include, but are not limited to, those which confine animals in numbers greater than those provided in any of the categories in clause (a) in Appendix B to 40 CFR Part 122 (2002) (see below) and have discharged in the past, now discharge, or will in the future discharge during dry weather or as a result of precipitation less than the 25-year, 24-hour storm.
   
   Appendix B to 40 CFR Part 122 (2002)

   (a)	More than the numbers of animals specified in any of the following categories are confined:
   	(1)	1,000 slaughter and feeder cattle,
   	(2)	700 mature dairy cattle (whether milked or dry cows),
   	(3)	2,500 swine each weighing over 25 kilograms (approximately 55 pounds),
   	(4)	500 horses,
   	(5)	10,000 sheep or lambs,
   	(6)	55,000 turkeys,
   	(7)	100,000 laying hens or broilers (if the facility has continuous overflow watering),
   	(8)	30,000 laying hens or broilers (if the facility has a liquid manure system),
   	(9)	5,000 ducks, or
   	(10)	1,000 animal units.

2. Expanding operations that are defined as CAFOs after April 13, 2003, but are not new sources (i.e., expanding operations that, after expansion, would have been defined as a CAFO prior to April 13, 2003) must submit an application for coverage under a general permit by no later than 90 days after they are defined as CAFOs.
   
   
3. Expanding operations that are defined as CAFOs after April 13, 2003, but would not have been defined as CAFOs (even after expansion) prior to April 13, 2003, must submit an application for coverage under a general permit by no later than February 27, 2009.
   
   
4. New sources (i.e., operations for which the construction began after April 13, 2003) must submit an application for coverage under a general permit by no later than 180 days prior to commencing operation.
   
   
5. Where the operator of a CAFO that is covered by a general permit changes and the new operator wishes to have the existing general permit coverage transferred, the new and current operators of the facility must complete and send to Ohio EPA a Transfer of Responsibility form in accordance with the requirements of the general permit at least 60 days prior to the change.

For additional explanation of the application deadlines and permit application process, check Ohio EPA's Fact Sheet OHIO EPA CAFO NPDES Permit, Part II, What Is It, and How To Get One? (PDF 79K)