Animal Waste Disposal Issues

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Objective

In June 1995, animal waste contained in an eight-acre lagoon in North Carolina burst through its dike, spilling approximately 22 million gallons of animal waste into the New River. The spill was twice the size of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and reportedly killed fish along a 19-mile downstream area. This was the worst of six reported spills in the state during the summer of 1995.

At the request of OIG senior management, we reviewed information concerning the spills to determine what preventive measures were taken in the state before and after the spills and what EPA could do to reduce the possibility of animal waste spills in the future, in North Carolina and elsewhere.

Background

Animal feeding operations and feedlots are concentrated, confined animal or poultry growing operations for meat, milk, or egg production. Animal waste resulting from these operations can be considerable and requires disposal. For example, hogs generally produce two to four times more waste, per hog, than humans. In North Carolina, hog waste amounts to about 9.5 million tons per year. Most of the hog operations use a "wet" animal waste management system to dispose of the waste. The animal wastes are stored in earthen pits called lagoons, for decomposition. Then, the wastes are disposed of by spraying on, spreading on, or incorporating into crop lands, in a process known as land application.

Animal waste, if applied to land properly, can provide nutrients such as nitrogen to soil. However, improper application or over- application of animal waste to the soil or spills from lagoons can result in discharges into rivers and streams that contribute to "nutrient-pollution" in surface waters. The overabundance of nutrients speeds the growth of algae in surface waters. When algae growth exceeds the capacity of the surface waters to support it, oxygen in the waters is depleted and fish kills can result. Animal waste is also linked with cryptosporidium and giardia, pathogens that can be waterborne and can cause diseases that adversely affect human health. Animal waste is not the only source of pollutants discussed above, but even if only one of several contributors, it is a compelling reason to ensure that animal waste is disposed of correctly.

Under the Clean Water Act (CWA), the discharge of any pollutant into the waters of the United States by a point source is unlawful unless the discharge is in accordance with a permit issued under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). The CWA defines the term "point source" as "any discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO), or vessel or other floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged." The term exempts agricultural stormwater discharges and return flows from irrigated agriculture. The inclusion of concentrated animal feeding operations in the definition of the term "point source" subjects CAFOs to the requirements of NPDES.

The CWA does not specifically define a CAFO. However, the legislative history of the CWA suggests that Congress intended that the CAFO definition be applied to feeding operations accommodating large numbers of animals. In addition, any animal feeding operation that was directly discharging wastes into streams traversing the operation was to be considered a CAFO, no matter the number of animals.

In order to meet the requirements of a court order to issue CAFO regulations, the Agency released the proposed NPDES regulations for CAFOs for comment in November 1975. The final regulations were promulgated and effective on March 18, 1976, and are found in Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 122.23.

In 1992, the Agency established a workgroup to address issues related to CAFOs. The workgroup issued The Report of the EPA/State Feedlot Workgroup in 1993. One of the report recommendations was that the Agency provide additional guidance on CAFOs. The Agency issued the CAFO guidance, Guide Manual On NPDES Regulations For Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, in February 1996.

In 1996, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), in comments on EPA's draft plan for biennial review of effluent guidelines as required by the CWA, raised the CAFO issue with the Agency. NRDC encouraged the Agency to readdress the effluent guidelines for all feedlots, including CAFOs. On January 31, 1997, the Agency agreed, as part of a consent decree with NRDC, to include feedlots as an industry that will be studied beginning in 1997 and ending in 1998. Among the specific areas that the Agency has agreed to consider for study are general characterization of wastewater from CAFOs in terms of pollutant concentrations, volumes, and environmental impacts. The study will also review the pollutant reduction capabilities of various control and treatment practices, associated costs, waste generated by different animal types, and a profile of the industry relative to size and location of facilities. The result of the study will be a preliminary data summary. The Agency has also begun internal discussions focusing on the need for review of the point source definitions concerning CAFOs as found in 40 CFR Part 122.23 and is including CAFOs as a priority for the Office of Water National Agenda for 1997-1998. The Agency is also including CAFOs as a priority for compliance and enforcement.

Animal feeding operations have changed since the regulations were issued more than 20 years ago. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has reported that from 1982 to 1992 the number of hogs coming from farms producing 200 or fewer head per year declined 44%, while the number of hogs coming from farms that produce 5,000 or more head per year increased by 257%. More recent pork industry figures indicate a similar trend. From 1991 to 1996, the number of hog operations accommodating less than 1,000 hogs decreased by 24%, while the number of operations handling over 5,000 hogs increased by 15%. The Agency has estimated that approximately 2,000 NPDES permits have been issued to CAFOs, out of an estimated 6,600 operations which met size requirements for a CAFO. Not all of these operations are required to have a permit. Under existing interpretation of CAFO regulations, operations that do not discharge in other than a defined storm event are not required to obtain a permit.

Scope and Methodology

The audit was conducted from October 1996 through February 1997. We interviewed Office of Water, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, and EPA Region 4 personnel who work with CAFO issues. We also interviewed personnel with the State of North Carolina Department of Environmental, Health, and Natural Resources (Divisions of Air, Water Quality, and Soil and Water Conservation), North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, and USDA, including its Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in North Carolina. Additional interviews included individuals associated with various environmental organizations and a local industry group. We also accompanied a State of North Carolina inspector on an inspection of a swine facility. We reviewed documents and information related to CAFOs and the lagoon spills in North Carolina from a variety of sources, including newspapers, the Agency, the State of North Carolina, USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, environmental and industry organizations, OIG, and General Accounting Office (GAO).

We conducted this audit in accordance with Government Auditing Standards (1994 Revision) issued by the Comptroller General of the United States as they apply to economy and efficiency and program results audits. Our audit included auditing procedures considered necessary for the audit, but did not include a test of internal controls related to NPDES and reports required under Section 305(b) of the CWA. We refer to the NPDES permit system, but we did not test or evaluate the permit system itself. Therefore, we cannot and do not attest to its integrity.

Prior Audit Coverage

The Central Audit Division of the EPA OIG released an audit report, Region 7's Efforts To Address Water Pollution From Livestock Waste, in September 1996. This audit found that the Region needed a more structured overall strategy to measure states' success in reducing livestock waste pollution. The General Accounting Office completed a briefing report, Animal Agriculture: Information On Waste Management and Water Quality Issues, in June 1995. Applicable information from these reports was used in this report as necessary.

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Created April 21, 1997

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