Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) CAFO Rule and the Proposed Idaho NPDES CAFO General Permit March 9, 2010

NPDES CAFO Rule June 30, 2006 Proposed rule published to address Waterkeeper decision Mar 7, 2008 Supplemental proposed rule with additional options Oct 31, 2008 EPA Administrator signed final rule revisions responding to Waterkeeper decision Nov 20, 2008 CAFO rule revisions published in Federal Register Dec 22, 2008 Effective date for CAFO rule revisions Feb 27, 2009 Compliance date deadline for newly defined CAFOs to seek NPDES permit coverage and permitted CAFOs to develop and implement NMPs 2008 Final CAFO Rule NPDES and Effluent Limitation Guidelines and Standards for CAFOs Final Rule (PDF) (70 pp, 1,368K) - The EPA Administrator signed the final NPDES regulations and ELG for CAFOs on October 31, 2008. These regulations are effective on December 22, 2008. 2006 and 2007 Final Rules for Extension of Compliance Dates for CAFOs Extension of Certain Compliance Dates for the CAFO NPDES Program - A final rule issued July 18, 2007 extended the deadline, establishing February 27, 2009 as the new date for newly defined CAFOs to seek NPDES permit coverage and for permitted CAFOs to develop and implement nutrient management plans (NMPs) as required by EPA’s 2003 CAFO rule. EPA revised the dates previously extended to July 31, 2007 (71 FR 6978), from the compliance date of December 31, 2006 established in the 2003 regulations, to allow time to finalize the regulations in response to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Waterkeeper Alliance et al. v. EPA, 399 F.3d 486 (2nd Cir. 2005). 2006 and 2008 Proposed CAFO Rules Supplemental Proposal to the 2006 Proposed Rule - EPA proposed additional options being considered for inclusion in the rulemaking to respond to the changes required by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Waterkeeper Alliance et al. v. EPA. This action supplemented the June 2006 proposal to revise the NPDES permitting requirements and Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELGs) for CAFOs. EPA proposed a voluntary option for CAFOs to certify to the permitting authority that they do not discharge or propose to discharge and therefore do not need NPDES permit coverage. The Agency also proposed a framework for identifying the terms of the nutrient management plan (NMP) and offered three alternative approaches for addressing application rates of manure, litter, and process wastewater when identifying terms of the NMP to be included in the permit. 2006 Proposed Rule - On June 30, 2006, EPA published a proposed rule to revise several aspects of the Agency’s regulations governing discharges from CAFOs in response to the Waterkeeper decision. EPA proposed to require only owners or operators of those CAFOs that discharge or propose to discharge to seek permit coverage. EPA also proposed to require CAFOs seeking authorization to discharge under individual permits to submit their NMPs with their permit applications or, under general permits, with their notices of intent. Permitting authorities would be required to review the NMP and provide the public with an opportunity for meaningful public review and comment. Permitting authorities would also be required to incorporate terms of the NMP as NPDES permit conditions. The proposed rule also addressed the remand of issues for further clarification and analysis. These issues concern clarifications regarding the applicability of water quality-based effluent limitations (WQBELs); new source performance standards for swine, poultry, and veal CAFOs; and "best conventional technology" effluent limitations guidelines for fecal coliform.

Proposed Idaho NPDES CAFO General Permit Nov 19, 2009 Federal Register notice Dec 8-10, 2009 Public meetings Jan 19, 2010 End of public comment period EPA is currently reviewing the comments received during the public comment period. EPA will issue the final Idaho NPDES CAFO general permit once all significant comments have been addressed and consultation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service is complete. Summary We are proposing to reissue a general permit (permit) for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in the State of Idaho, including CAFOs located in Indian Country. As proposed, all animal feeding operations (AFOs) that meet the regulatory definition of a CAFO, discharge or propose to discharge into waters of the U.S. located in the State of Idaho, including water bodies in Indian Country, and are subject to 40 CFR Part 412 are eligible for coverage under the permit. Public Notice Issued: November 16, 2009 Comments Due: January 19, 2010

Contact Information Nicholas Peak 208-378-5765 peak.nicholas@epa.gov Karma Anderson 206-553-1647 anderson.karma@epa.gov