EPA Drops Rule Requiring CAFO Reporting

EPA has apparently decided to drop its proposed CAFO reporting rule.  The rule, which was published last October, required concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) to report to EPA the overall size of the farm and the total available wastewater/sludge application area for disposing of the CAFO's wastewater.  The proposed rule was the result of a settlement agreement between EPA and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Waterkeeper Alliance, and the Sierra Club.  However, the settlement only required EPA to propose the rule, not to adopt it.

EPA's website indicates that it still intends to collect the information, but from other sources.  Many commenters to the proposed rule had pointed out that EPA could get the information elsewhere -- like state NPDES programs -- instead of duplicating efforts and creating extra work for the regulated community.

CAFO wastewater lagoon.

NC Hog Farm and President Sentenced to Pay $1.5M for Clean Water Act Violations

The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Freedman Farms was sentenced today in federal court to five years probation and ordered to pay $1.5 million in fines, restitution and community service payments for violating the Clean Water Act when they discharged hog waste into a stream that leads to the Waccamaw River.

The company's president was sentenced to six months in prison to be followed by six months of home confinement for his role in the violations.

According to evidence presented at trial, Freedman Farms discharged hog waste into a tributary of the Waccamaw River that flows through the White Marsh, a wetlands complex.  The farm had approximately 4,800 hogs.  The hog waste was supposed to be directed to two lagoons for treatment and disposal.  Instead, in December 2007, hog waste was discharged from the farm directly into the tributary.

We've been involved in CAFO cases, Clean Water Act cases, and potential criminal cases like this one many times.  Intentional discharges are no laughing matter, and can lead to jail time.