Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

Additional Information and Links
 

 Other Ohio EPA Programs That Might Affect CAFOs

Construction Storm Water Permits This NPDES permitting program, administered by Ohio EPA's Division of Surface Water, is designed to document construction activity and require practices that keep pollutants out of Ohio's streams. See Construction Storm Water Permit Requirements for Agricultural Projects [PDF 24K] for more information.

Composting Composting is regulated by the Ohio EPA's Division of Solid and Infectious Waste Management (DSIWM). Under the solid waste composting program, composting facilities, including those composting animal waste, must obtain a registration, license, and/or permit. The program also establishes requirements regarding what types of wastes can be composted, operational requirements of the facility, and testing requirements for the finished product prior to distribution.

Source Water Assessment Program Ohio's Source Water Assessment and Protection (SWAP) Program is an innovative program to protect Ohio's streams, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and ground waters used for public drinking water from future contamination. Building on existing environmental assessment and protection programs, the SWAP Program identifies drinking water source protection areas and provides information on how to reduce the potential for contaminating the waters within those areas.

Sewage Systems Ohio EPA's Division of Surface Water regulates sewage systems at commercial facilities, including livestock operations. A Permit-to-Install must be obtained from Ohio EPA for the system installation or modification. The above link provides the instructions and application forms for the permit. The permit application must be submitted to the appropriate district office for review and approval. For guidance on the design of the system, please see Sewage: Collection, Treatment & Disposal Where Public Sewers Are Not Available (Green Book) (1993) [PDF 1,594K].

Public Water Systems. Ohio EPA's Division of Drinking and Ground Waters regulates public water systems to ensure they provide water that is safe to drink. Livestock operations that employ more than 25 employees may meet the definition of a public water system [PDF 23K] and be regulated under the Ohio EPA. For more information see the Transient Public Water Systems Guide (September 2003) [PDF] or contact the Division at 614-644-2752.

Emergency Response Ohio EPA's Division of Emergency and Remedial Response is a program that responds to spill reports and oversees clean-up in order to minimize the impact on the environment. This division operates the emergency spill hotline and may respond to spill reports at livestock operations for materials including oil, gasoline, fertilizer, manure, etc. When an employee from the Emergency and Remedial Response Division responds to a spill, the responsible party is billed for the investigator's time. This is not a fine or penalty.

Other Ohio Agencies with Programs That Might Affect CAFOs

There are three agencies and departments that regulate livestock operations in the state of Ohio:

• Ohio EPA issues permits through the NPDES CAFO permitting program described on this Web site.
• Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) issues Permits to Install (PTIs) and Permits to Operate (PTOs) through the Ohio Livestock Environmental Permitting Program. In the future, ODA will also assume responsibility for the NPDES permitting program currently administered by Ohio EPA. ODA also administers a number of other regulatory and special programs that might apply to livestock operations.
• Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Soil and Water Conservation (ODNR-DSWC) does not issue permits, but does administer and enforce regulations that apply to livestock operations. These regulations cover land application and utilization standards for animal manure and standards for the design and construction of manure storage and treatment facilities. Even though ODNR does not issue permits, a livestock operation might be required to obtain a permit under another program if it does not comply with ODNR-DSWC's regulations.

Summary of Ohio EPA, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Natural Resources CAFO Requirements

The following table shows how the regulatory programs described above apply to CAFOs:

Ohio Livestock Coalition's Guidelines for Livestock Operations [PDF 772K] (pages 5 - 10, "Who Regulates What?") provides more detailed information on how these three agencies regulate livestock operations in Ohio.

• Ohio Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). NRCS develops agricultural standards for best management practices that relate to lagoon construction, manure management, wetland design, etc. These Conservation Practice Standards are listed in the Field Office Technical Guide. Several of Ohio EPA's CAFO NPDES permit requirements are based on these standards.

Links to Other Agencies' and Organizations' CAFO Programs

The following agencies and organizations also administer programs that might be of interest to CAFO operators.

Federal Government

• U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) Animal Feeding Operations page - provides resources to help animal feeding operations "to achieve their production and natural resource conservation goals through development and implementation of comprehensive nutrient management plans."
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's NPDES CAFO Program - provides information and guidance documents on the federal NPDES regulations for CAFOs.

Non-Government Programs

• Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Agencies (ASIWPCA), State CAFO Programs - provides basic CAFO program information and links to state CAFO program information.
• On Farm Assessment and Environmental Review Program (OFAER) - provides livestock producers a confidential, comprehensive and objective assessment of water quality, odor and pest risk factors at their operations.
• Livestock and Poultry Environmental Stewardship (LPES) Curriculum - a national educational program for U.S. livestock and poultry industry advisors to "help producers acquire certification and/or achieve environmentally sustainable production systems."
• National Center for Manure and Animal Waste Management - emphasizes "the development and dissemination of knowledge and technology that support sustainable, profitable and internationally competitive animal production and also protect community interests and environmental quality."

* Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view the [PDF] publications. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, click here to download it for free.
 

* Although Ohio EPA cannot endorse, sanction or guarantee the accuracy of information found on external Web sites, we think you might find these outside links useful. When you select a link to an external Web site, you are leaving Ohio EPA's Web site and are subject to the privacy, security and accessibility policies of the owners/sponsors of the external site.