Major Environmental Legislation Affecting Livestock Agriculture in the US

Year Land Water Air Biodiversity1901 USDA establishes grazing regulations in forest reserves1934 Taylor Grazing Act1935 Soil Conservation Service established1969 ------------National Environmental Protection Act----------------1970 Clean Air Act1972 Clean Water Act1973 Endangered Species

Act1974 25-year, 24 hour rainfall discharge requirement

Year Land Water Air Biodiversity1976 Definition of CAFO’s as sources of point source pollution1980 Comprehensive Environmental and Liability Act (CERCLA)1985 Food Security Act establishes Conservation Reserve Program1987 Agriculture exempted from Clean Water Act1996 Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act1997 Established EQIP Amended Clean Air Act; Ambient Air Quality Standards revised1998 Clean Water Action Plan; Unified National Strategy for Animal Feeding Operations2002 Revised CAFO regulations

Land Regulations• 1901

– USDA developed principles to regulate grazing within forage reserves• Grazing was allowed if it did not damage water supplies

• 1934– Taylor Grazing Act

• Placed all public lands, not controlled by the US Forest Service , into grazing districts controlled by the Grazing Service Department in the Department of the Interior

• Later became the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)• BLM charged with halting overgrazing and soil destruction

through Grazing Management Plans

• 1969– National Environmental Policy Act

• All agencies required to write environmental impact statements for all major federal actions that might affect the environment

• BLM required to write statements for all local grazing programs

• 1985– Food Security Act

• Developed the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)– Took row cropland in highly erodible areas out of crop production

and seeded with forages for an annual payment– Contracts lasted 10 to 15 years– Forage couldn’t be grazed or harvested unless federal emergency

was declared– Effects

» Seeded large amount of land in forage» Reduced soil erosion and water pollution while increasing

wildlife habitat» Inflated price of local crop and pastureland

Water Regulations• 1973

– Clean Water Act• Goal

– Restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters

• Defined point source and nonpoint source pollution– Point source pollution

» Water pollution from facilities that discharge to water resources through a discernible confined and discrete conveyance including but not limited to a pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or floating craft from which pollutants might be discharged

» May be controlled by technology-based approaches» Point source rules prohibit discharge of pollutants from a point

source to waters of the US except as authorized by a NPDES permit (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System)

» Point sources specifically include Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOS) and regulated by the CAFO rules

– Nonpoint source pollution

» Water pollution whose source can not be identified

» Represents 60 to 80% of water pollution today

» Usually occurs over a broad area

» Technology-based controls are inadequate

» Controlled by Best Management Practices (BMP’s)

» Regulated by Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) regulations

• 1999– Unified National Strategy for Animal Feeding Operations

• Developed by EPA and USDA• Goal is that all Animal Feeding Operations (AFO’s) develop and

implement Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans (CNMP’s)– The largest 5% of AFO’s would be required to develop a CNMP by EPA as

part of the NPDES permitting process

– The remaining 95% of the AFO’s would be expected to develop a CNMP voluntarily using locally focused incentive programs

– CNMP should have:

» A Feed Management Plan

» A Manure Storage and Handling Plan

» A Land Application Plan

• 2002– New CAFO regulations implemented

CAFO Regulations

• Definition– A ‘CAFO’ is an ‘AFO’ with a specific size and/or

danger to water quality

• As ‘AFO’ is a lot or facility where:– Animals have been, are, or will be stabled or

confined and fed or maintained for any portion of the day for a total of 45 days or more in any 12-month period, and

– crops, vegetation, forage growth, or post-harvest residues are not sustained in a normal growing season over any portion of the lot or facility

• CAFOs are AFOs that meet size or discharge criteria

• Size criteria– Base Animal Unit

Slaughter and feeder cattle 1.0Mature dairy cattle 1.4Butcher or breeding swine, >55 lb 0.4Growing swine, <55 lb 0.1Sheep 0.1Horses 2.0Turkeys 0.018Broiler or layer chickens 0.01

– Calculation examples:• 1000 growing steers x 1.0 = 1000 AU• 2500 100-lb growing pigs x 0.4 = 1000 AU• 500 growing beef cattle x 1.0 = 500 AU

1000 growing-finishing pigs x 0.4 = 400 AU

Total 900 AU

• Requirements based on size– All Animal Feeding Operations

• Retain manure on-site between periods of land application• Observe land application separation distances• Report any manure releases• Correctly dispose of animal mortalities

– AFOs with > 500 AU• An annual Manure Management Plan• Manure can only be applied a certified manure applicator• Building construction must be based on the state’s Master

Matrix

– AFOs with > 1000 AU or > 500 AU if stream runs through lot or a man-made conveyance discharges runoff from an AFO to a stream or river• Requires an annual Nutrient Management Plan or a

Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan (if applying for government assistance)

• Operation must apply for a NPDES permit• Manure can only be applied a certified manure applicator• Building construction must be based on the state’s Master

Matrix

• Manure Management Plan– A tool to balance manure nutrient application with

crop yields– Elements

• Number of livestock• Amounts of manure produced• Nutrient concentrations of manure• Number of acres of each crop available for manure

application• Yields of each crop• Amount of manure that can be applied to achieve either

Nitrogen or Phosphorus balance– All plans must be based on a P-index

– Can be prepared by a producer

• Nutrient Management Plan– Elements

• All components of a manure management plan• Mortality handling• Diversions of clean water around facilities• Preventing contact of animals with water resources• Chemical handling• Manure storage and application

– Prepared by Technical Service Provider• Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan– Elements

• Components of a Nutrient Management Plan• Land treatment practices to prevent erosion and nutrient runoff• Feed management practices to reduce nutrient excretion• Other manure utilization activities• Additional record keeping

– Prepared by USDA-NRCS or a certified Technical Service Provider

• NPDES Permits– Application

• 180 days before new or renewal permit is implemented– Parts of an NPDES permit

• Effluent limitations– Production area

» Discharges from CAFOs with NPDES permits are allowed from production areas that are well-designed, built and operated to handle precipitation up to a:

» 25-year, 24 hour rainfall from cattle, sheep, and horse CAFOs

» 100-year, 24 hour rainfall from swine, turkey, chicken, and veal CAFOs*

– Land application area» Manure, litter, and wastewater must be applied to land

using BMP’s

• Record-keeping requirements– Records kept for 5 years

• Nutrient management plan– Must show implementation

• Manure, litter or wastewater analysis records• Soil analysis records• Production area records• Land application records• Animal records• Discharge report

– All discharges must be verbally reported within 24 hours and in writing within 5 days

– Report

» What caused problem; how long it lasted; how you stopped it; and how you will prevent it in the future

Bottom line

• Discharges of manure, litter or wastewater from CAFO’s without NPDES permits are subject to prosecution resulting in major penalties

Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)

• Used to limit nonpoint source water pollution primarily by implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs)

• Defined as a written qualitative plan and analysis for attaining and maintaining water quality standards in all seasons for a specific pollutant

• Written for all water sources in a state that do not meet state water quality standards according to the Section 303(d) impaired waters list conducted every 2 years– Impaired water bodies do not meet designated uses for

recreation, fishing or drinking

• Prepared by state authorities with local input– Must be approved by US-EPA

• Implications for livestock agriculture– Manure application

• Injection into soil• Application onto frozen soil

– Pasture streams• Buffer strips• Controlled access

• Load allocations from nonpoint sources controlled by voluntary approaches

• If voluntary approaches don’t work:– EPA may cut federal funding to state– Congress may pass legislation tying compliance to crop

price supports• A TDML must improve the water quality in a specific

body of water within 10 years

Programs to assist livestock producers in improving water quality

• 1985– Food Security Act

• Developed the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)– Reduced soil erosion– Conserved wetlands

• 1996– Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act

• Initiated the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP)– Provides technical assistance and provides 75% cost-share to

environmental improvements– 60% of the total funding targeted for livestock– Medium and small AFO’s

» Can receive financial assistance for waste management structures and nutrient management plans

– Large CAFO’s» Can receive financial assistance for nutrient management

plans– Contracts are for 1 to 10 years– Maximum contract is for $450,000

• 2002 Food Security and Rural Investment Act– Conservation Security Program• Intended to reward producers for past

conservation measures and encourage additional measures• Payments–Base» 5 to 15 % of rent»Max. $20,000 to $45,000/yr

– 75% cost-share on improvements• Targeted watersheds• Grazing–Requires grazing plan–Access to stream limited to 25% of time–Grazing records–Prevent animal concentration near streams

Air Quality

• Clean air act (1970, amended in 1997)– EPA charged with the authority to regulate major sources of

air pollution to protect and enhance the quality of the nation’s air resources• EPA delegated states to implement federal air quality

standards, federal monitoring networks, and permitting functions

• EPA established a list of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for six principal air pollutants that may compromise human health or well-being

Air pollutants regulated by EPA

Major air pollutants NAAQS produced on AFOsCarbon monoxide (CO) *Lead (Pb) *Nitrogen dioxide * *Ozone (O3), * * formed from volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) and nitrous oxides (NOx) Particulate matter, * * PM10 (2.5 um < x < 10 um) from dust PM2.5 ( < 2.5 um) from ammonia (NH3) with NO3, SO4 or VOC’sSulfur Dioxide (SO2) *Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) *

• Major sources of these pollutants are defined as emitting more than 100 tons of any single pollutant per year

• Emissions– Point source pollution

• Sources that can traced to a single point– Point sources on CAFOs include hay grinding, grain unloading, and

feed loading– Fugitive emissions

• Sources not traceable to a single emission point• Because of lack of monitoring, fugitive emissions have not been

included in the emission inventories of AFOs except in several western states– Therefore, Clean Air Act hasn’t been applied to AFOs until recently

• Requirements for major emitters– Pay emission fees – Apply for a Federal Operating Permit– Prepare an emissions inventory

• Although AFOs have not needed Federal Operating Permits, states have required permits based on state air quality regulations

• States implementing air quality standards on AFOs– Odors

• Missouri, 1998• North Carolina, 1998• Colorado, 2001

– Hydrogen sulfide (H2S)• California, 1969• Minnesota, 2001• Iowa, 2004

– 15 ppb can’t be exceeded more than 7 times per year measured at neighboring houses, churches, and public places

– VOCs• California

• Legislation used in air quality lawsuits– Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,

and Liability Act (CERCLA)• Developed in 1980 as “Superfund”• Requires EPA to respond to the release of hazardous

substances like for NH3, H2S, and other pollutants at amounts greater than 100 lb/day

• Requires person in charge of facility to report unauthorized releases of hazardous substances to the National Response Center

• Because of lack of data and monitoring, CERCLA has only been recently used on several AFOs in Iowa– 4 Swine operations were found to be emitting 224 to 814 lb

NH3/day (2004)

Biodiversity

• 1973– Endanger Species Act

• Any species of animal, plant or invertabrate could be listed as endangered or threatened

• It is illegal or kill an endangered species or disrupt its habitat