On August 8, EPA sent a proposed concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) reporting rule to OMB for review, in a final step toward formal proposal of and public comment on the rule. The rule was required as part of the settlement of a lawsuit filed by environmental groups, Natural Resources Defense Council v. EPA.  

The rule would require CAFOs to submit to EPA specified details about their operations, regardless of whether they will be required to apply for a NPDES permit.  The rule thus may be at odds with the ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals last March in National Pork Producers Council v. EPA, which invalidated EPA’s 2008 CAFO rule because it required CAFOs to apply for permits whether or not they would discharge pollutants into waters of the United States.  

The proposed reporting rule is required by the settlement to mandate reporting of a CAFO’s location, the number of animals, the type and capacity of manure storage, the quantity of manure produced, and information about the use of the manure.  

For more information regarding the proposed CAFO reporting rule, contact Steve O’Day (soday@sgrlaw.com) or Phillip Hoover (pehoover@sgrlaw.com).