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WASHINGTON, DC (August 11,1999) - The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) has major concerns about the draft “Guidance Manual and Example NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) Permit for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations” released last week by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The manual is the enforcement initiative focused on concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), and is a component of the administration’s Clean Water Action Plan. The manual details the rules that the EPA wants states to impose upon CAFOs to improve water quality.
An NCBA task force has been working since last fall to educate and inform the EPA about specific cattle industry CAFO issues in order to receive fair and appropriate treatment as many new guidelines and regulations are formed. While it is apparent that many of the cattle industry’s concerns have been addressed, the industry is concerned that other areas did not receive suitable attention.
One of NCBA's main concerns is EPA’s attempt to impose liability upon the CAFO operator for off-site manure land application by a farmer or third party contract hauler. EPA is also attempting to broaden its legal authority to require farmers who apply manure to get an NPDES permit, while those using commercial fertilizer would not be held to the same standard.
Some of the definitions within the EPA manual are dangerously imprecise. For example, it states that “exceptionally large” facilities be subjected to a stricter set of regulations, yet it doesn't define what “exceptionally large” means. The use of size limitation and location are stringent restrictions on producers that do not take into account the extreme differences in climate, topography, and environmental concerns. NCBA wants the regulations to be built around these differences. For example, runoff can present increased problems in wet climates, unlike those of the vast semi-arid tracts of the west.
“We have been working diligently with the EPA throughout the process and are pleased that many of our comments and suggestions have been incorporated into the guidelines, ” said John Pemberton, NCBA associate director of environmental issues. “However, there are still some issues of serious concern for our members that need to be resolved in the next couple of months. To convince the EPA to address our remaining concerns, we will continue to meet with the EPA and work on comments in response to the proposed guidelines.”
According to the draft documents, originally scheduled to be released last May, states are required to have all guidelines implemented by January 2000 - although the 60 day comment period won’t end until October. “Two months is hardly enough time for states to make significant changes in their regulatory program,” said Pemberton. “This process needs to be a cooperative effort rather than a EPA headquarters, top-down process.”
NCBA will submit its comments to the draft guidelines within 60 days and will continue to work on focusing EPA’s attention on the cattle industry’s concerns.
-- NCBA --
Initiated in 1898, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association is the trade association of America’s cattle farmers and ranchers, and the marketing organization for the largest segment of the nation’s food and fiber industry. NCBA is producer-directed but consumer-focused, with offices in Denver, Chicago and Washington D.C. |