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Kyle K. Weldon and Jim D. Bradbury James D. Bradbury, PLLC
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in August denied two petitions by environmental and community groups which asked the EPA to revise its Clean Water Act regulations for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) program. Specifically, these petitions, filed in 2017 and 2022, requested that the EPA address certain alleged CAFO permitting issues, including seeking (1) greater operator coverage, (2) enhanced monitoring and reporting requirements, and (3) “better” nutrient management plans.
While the rejection of the petitions was considered a victory for CAFO operators and U.S. agriculture, as part of its response to the petitions, EPA announced that it was going to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the CAFO program, specifically looking at the issues addressed in the environmental groups’ petitions. This evaluation, according to EPA, will include a detailed study of the current CAFO effluent limitation guidelines and establish a subcommittee with a “diverse array of stakeholders” who can help EPA as it seeks to improve its CAFO program.
It is estimated that over the next year and a half, the EPA’s advisory subcommittee will meet to review the CAFO program and provide its recommendations to EPA. EPA is also expected to conduct its own study, after which, in concert with the subcommittee’s recommendations, the agency will decide whether new rules or enforcement protocols should be implemented as compared with those currently in place.
So, while the EPA has, for now, denied the petitions, this comprehensive evaluation may lead to regulatory revisions in the future. We will continue to monitor, but the EPA’s website on its “Animal Agriculture and Water Quality subcommittee” will be a good place to get updates regarding EPA’s action on this issue.