|
 n February 28, 2005, a federal
appeals court in New York ruled that portions of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's CAFO rule issued in February of 2003 were
invalid. The rule was challenged both by environmental groups
and agricultural organizations. The court's ruling included the
following specific rulings:
|
Unless there is a discharge
of a pollutant to a water of the United States, there is no violation
of the federal Clean Water Act and CAFO's are not required to
get an NPDES (discharge) permit. |
|
Nutrient management plans must
be reviewed and approved by the appropriate government agency
before an NPDES permit is issued. Further, nutrient management
plans must be available for public review and comment before a
permit is issued. |
The court's ruling could have a significant
impact on Iowa confinement livestock operations because NPDES
permits, as mandated by the CAFO rule, should not be required.
This is due in large part to the fact that Iowa law requires
confinement operations to contain all manure and prohibits discharges
of manure to a water of the state.
The court's directive for agency review and
public access to nutrient management plans should not impact
Iowa confinement operations because even if a confinement operation
would be required to obtain an NPDES permit, these requirements
have been in place under Iowa law for manure management plans
since 1995.
The court also ruled that land where manure
is applied from CAFO's is a part of the CAFO and is subject to
permit requirements. In other words, a discharge from land application
would be a discharge from a CAFO and would require a discharge
permit. However, the court went on to rule that if a CAFO utilizes
a site-specific nutrient management plan, any discharge from
land application in compliance with the nutrient management plan
and which results from a precipitation event is not a discharge
for which a discharge permit is required. This is the so-called
agricultural storm water discharge exemption to permit requirements.
The actual impact of the court's ruling will
not be known until both federal and state CAFO rules are rewritten
to comply with the court's decision. IPPA will continue to monitor
the issue and keep producers informed.
DNR has requested that the Iowa Environmental
Protection Commission terminate the proposed state CAFO rule,
awaiting a re-write of the federal CAFO rule.
|