EPA: No Follow-Up Report Required of CAFOs

The Environmental Protection Agency has announced that large concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) which were required to report the potential release of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide in January 2009 will not be required to submit a written annual follow up report again in January 2010.

 Last year, under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA)  EPA required that only large animal feeding operations report certain types of continuous releases to local and state agencies by Jan.20, 2009

 CAFOs were required to file mandatory reports, first by making phone calls to their state and local emergency response authorities, followed – within 30 days – by written notification of the emission estimates and then submit a report to update and verify those estimates one year later.

 EPA, now has ruled that the one-year update and verification report is not required.

 Poultry growers with 125,000 birds or less are not considered CAFOs and were always exempt from reporting.

 New CAFOs, however, are required to go through the EPA EPCRA reporting process before full population of their houses with birds.

 For more information, call Bryce Covington, EPA Region 4’s Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Coordinator, at (404) 562-9192.

(This is the ADEM CAFO program and not the EPA EPCRA reporting regulation) New CAFOs, however, are required to go through the permitting process with Alabama Department of Environmental Management before beginning construction of their houses.