La. Admin. Code tit. 33 § IX-2505

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024

Section IX-2505 - Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO)

A. Permit Requirement for CAFOs. Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO), as defined in Subsection B of this Section or designated in accordance with Subsection C of this Section, are point sources, subject to LPDES permitting requirements as provided in this Chapter. Once an animal feeding operation is defined as a CAFO for at least one type of animal, the LPDES requirements for CAFOs apply with respect to all animals in confinement at the operation and all manure, litter, and process wastewater generated by those animals or the production of those animals, regardless of the type of animal.

B. Definitions Applicable to this Section

Animal Feeding Operation(AFO)- a lot or facility (other than an aquatic animal production facility) where the following conditions are met:

a. animals (other than aquatic animals) have been, are, or will be stabled or confined and fed or maintained for a total of 45 days or more in any 12-month period; and

b. crops, vegetation, forage growth, or post-harvest residues are not sustained in the normal growing season over any portion of the lot or facility.

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation(CAFO)- an AFO that is defined as a Large CAFO or as a Medium CAFO by the terms of this Subsection, or that is designated as a CAFO in accordance with Subsection C of this Section. Two or more AFOs under common ownership are considered to be a single AFO for the purposes of determining the number of animals at an operation, if they adjoin each other or if they use a common area or system for the disposal of wastes.

Land Application Area- land under the control of an AFO owner or operator, whether it is owned, rented, or leased, to which manure, litter, or process wastewater from the production area is or may be applied.

Large Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation(Large CAFO)- an AFO that stables or confines as many as or more than the numbers of animals specified in any of the following categories:

a. 700 mature dairy cows, whether milked or dry;

b. 1,000 veal calves;

c. 1,000 cattle other than mature dairy cows or veal calves (Cattle includes but is not limited to heifers, steers, bulls, and cow/calf pairs.);

d. 2,500 swine, each weighing 55 pounds or more;

e. 10,000 swine, each weighing less than 55 pounds;

f. 500 horses;

g. 10,000 sheep or lambs;

h. 55,000 turkeys;

i. 30,000 laying hens or broilers, if the AFO uses a liquid manure handling system;

j. 125,000 chickens (other than laying hens), if the AFO uses other than a liquid manure handling system;

k. 82,000 laying hens, if the AFO uses other than a liquid manure handling system;

l. 30,000 ducks, if the AFO uses other than a liquid manure handling system; or

m. 5,000 ducks, if the AFO uses a liquid manure handling system.

Manure- includes manure, bedding, compost, and raw materials or other materials commingled with manure or set aside for disposal.

Medium Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation(Medium CAFO)- includes any AFO with the type and number of animals that fall within any of the ranges listed in this definition and that has been defined or designated as a CAFO. An AFO is a Medium CAFO if:

a. the type and number of animals that it stables or confines falls within any of the following ranges:

i. 200 to 699 mature dairy cows, whether milked or dry;

ii. 300 to 999 veal calves;

iii. 300 to 999 cattle other than mature dairy cows or veal calves (Cattle includes but is not limited to heifers, steers, bulls, and cow/calf pairs.);

iv. 750 to 2,499 swine, each weighing 55 pounds or more;

v. 3,000 to 9,999 swine, each weighing less than 55 pounds;

vi. 150 to 499 horses;

vii. 3,000 to 9,999 sheep or lambs;

viii. 16,500 to 54,999 turkeys;

ix. 9,000 to 29,999 laying hens or broilers, if the AFO uses a liquid manure handling system;

x. 37,500 to 124,999 chickens (other than laying hens), if the AFO uses other than a liquid manure handling system;

xi. 25,000 to 81,999 laying hens, if the AFO uses other than a liquid manure handling system;

xii. 10,000 to 29,999 ducks, if the AFO uses other than a liquid manure handling system; or

xiii. 1,500 to 4,999 ducks, if the AFO uses a liquid manure handling system; and

b. either one of the following conditions are met:

i. pollutants are discharged into waters of the state through a manmade ditch, flushing system, or other similar manmade device; or

ii. pollutants are discharged directly into waters of the state that originate outside of and pass over, across, or through the facility or otherwise come into direct contact with the animals confined in the operation.

Process Wastewater- water directly or indirectly used in the operation of the AFO for any or all of the following: spillage or overflow from animal or poultry watering systems; washing, cleaning, or flushing pens, barns, manure pits, or other AFO facilities; direct contact swimming, washing, or spray cooling of animals; or dust control. Process wastewater also includes any water that comes into contact with any raw materials, products, or byproducts including manure, litter, feed, milk, eggs, or bedding.

Production Area- that part of an AFO that includes the animal confinement area, the manure storage area, the raw materials storage area, and the waste containment areas. The animal confinement area includes, but is not limited to, open lots, housed lots, feedlots, confinement houses, stall barns, free stall barns, milkrooms, milking centers, cowyards, barnyards, medication pens, walkers, animal walkways, and stables. The manure storage area includes, but is not limited to, lagoons, runoff ponds, storage sheds, stockpiles, under-house or pit storages, liquid impoundments, static piles, and composting piles. The raw materials storage area includes, but is not limited to, feed silos, silage bunkers, and bedding materials. The waste containment area includes, but is not limited to, settling basins and areas within berms and diversions that separate uncontaminated storm water. Also included in the definition of production area are any egg washing or egg processing facility and any area used in the storage, handling, treatment, or disposal of mortalities.

Small Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (Small CAFO)- an AFO that is designated as a CAFO and is not a Medium CAFO.

C. How may an AFO be designated as a CAFO? The appropriate authority (i.e., state administrative authority or regional administrator, or both, as specified in Paragraph C.1 of this Section) may designate any AFO as a CAFO upon determining that it is a significant contributor of pollutants to waters of the state.

1. Who may designate?

a. Approved States. In states that are approved or authorized by EPA under 40 CFR Part 123, CAFO designations may be made by the state administrative authority. The regional administrator may also designate CAFOs in approved states, but only where the regional administrator has determined that one or more pollutants in the AFO's discharge contributes to an impairment in a downstream or adjacent state or Indian country water that is impaired for that pollutant.

b. States with No Approved Program. The regional administrator may designate CAFOs in states that do not have an approved program and in Indian country where no entity has expressly demonstrated authority and has been expressly authorized by EPA to implement the NPDES program.

2. In making this designation, the state administrative authority or the regional administrator shall consider the following factors:

a. the size of the AFO and the amount of wastes reaching waters of the state;

b. the location of the AFO relative to waters of the state;

c. the means of conveyance of animal wastes and process wastewaters into waters of the state;

d. the slope, vegetation, rainfall, and other factors affecting the likelihood or frequency of discharge of animal wastes, manure, and process wastewaters into waters of the state; and

e. other relevant factors.

3. No AFO shall be designated under this Subsection unless the state administrative authority or the regional administrator has conducted an on-site inspection of the operation and determined that the operation should and could be regulated under the permit program. In addition, no AFO with numbers of animals below those established in the definition of Medium CAFO in Subsection B of this Section may be designated as a CAFO unless:

a. pollutants are discharged into waters of the state through a manmade ditch, flushing system, or other similar manmade device; or

b. pollutants are discharged directly into waters of the state that originate outside of the facility and pass over, across, or through the facility or otherwise come into direct contact with the animals confined in the operation.

D. Who shall seek coverage under an LPDES permit?

1. The owner or operator of a CAFO shall seek coverage under an LPDES permit if the CAFO discharges a regulated wastewater. Specifically, the CAFO owner or operator shall either apply for an individual LPDES permit or submit a notice of intent for coverage under an LPDES general permit. If the state administrative authority has not made a general permit available to the CAFO, the CAFO owner or operator shall submit an application for an individual permit to the state administrative authority.

2. Information to Submit with Permit Application or Notice of Intent. An application for an individual permit shall include the information specified in LAC 33:IX.2501. A notice of intent for a general permit shall include the information specified in LAC 33:IX.2501 and 2515.

E. Land application discharges from a CAFO are subject to LPDES requirements. The discharge of manure, litter, or process wastewater to waters of the state from a CAFO as a result of the application of that manure, litter, or process wastewater by the CAFO to land areas under its control is a discharge from that CAFO subject to LPDES permit requirements, except where it is an agricultural storm water discharge as provided in 33 U.S.C. 1362(14). For purposes of this Subsection, where the manure, litter, or process wastewater has been applied in accordance with site-specific nutrient management practices that ensure appropriate agricultural utilization of the nutrients in the manure, litter, or process wastewater, as specified under LAC 33:IX.2703.E.1.f-i, a precipitation-related discharge of manure, litter, or process wastewater from land areas under the control of a CAFO is an agricultural storm water discharge.

1. For unpermitted large CAFOs, a precipitation-related discharge of manure, litter, or process wastewater from land areas under the control of a CAFO shall be considered an agricultural storm water discharge only where the manure, litter, or process wastewater has been land applied in accordance with site-specific nutrient management practices that ensure appropriate agricultural utilization of the nutrients in the manure, litter, or process wastewater, as specified in LAC 33:IX.2703.E.1.f-i.

2. Unpermitted large CAFOs must maintain documentation specified in LAC 33:IX.2703.E.1.i either on site or at a nearby office, or otherwise make such documentation readily available to the state administrative authority upon request.

F. By when shall the owner or operator of a CAFO have an NPDES permit if it discharges?

1. A CAFO shall be covered by a permit at the time that it discharges.

G. Reserved.

H. Procedures for CAFOs Seeking Coverage under a General Permit

1. CAFO owners or operators must submit a notice of intent when seeking authorization to discharge under a general permit in accordance with LAC 33:IX.2515.B. The state administrative authority must review notices of intent submitted by CAFO owners or operators to ensure that the notice of intent includes the information required by LAC 33:IX.2501.I.1, including a nutrient management plan that meets the requirements of LAC 33:IX.2703.E and applicable effluent limitations and standards, including those specified in 40 CFR Part 412 . When additional information is necessary to complete the notice of intent or clarify, modify, or supplement previously submitted material, the state administrative authority may request such information from the owner or operator. If the state administrative authority makes a preliminary determination that the notice of intent meets the requirements of LAC 33:IX.2501.I.1 and 2703.E, the state administrative authority must notify the public of the state administrative authority's proposal to grant coverage under the permit to the CAFO and make available for public review and comment the notice of intent submitted by the CAFO, including the CAFO's nutrient management plan, and the draft terms of the nutrient management plan that will be incorporated into the permit. The process for submitting public comments and hearing requests, and the hearing process if a request for a hearing is granted, must follow the procedures applicable to draft permits set forth in LAC 33:IX.3115, 3117, and 3119. The state administrative authority may establish, either by regulation or in the general permit, an appropriate period of time for the public to comment and/or request a hearing that differs from the time period specified in LAC 33:IX.3113. The state administrative authority must respond to significant comments received during the comment period, as provided in LAC 33:IX.3125, and, if necessary, require the CAFO owner or operator to revise the nutrient management plan in order to be granted permit coverage. When the state administrative authority authorizes coverage for the CAFO owner or operator under the general permit, the terms of the nutrient management plan shall become incorporated as terms and conditions of the permit for the CAFO. The state administrative authority shall notify the CAFO owner or operator and inform the public that coverage has been authorized and of the terms of the nutrient management plan incorporated as terms and conditions of the permit applicable to the CAFO.

2. Nothing in this Subsection shall affect the authority of the state administrative authority to require an individual permit under LAC 33:IX.2515.B.3.

La. Admin. Code tit. 33, § IX-2505

Promulgated by the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Water Resources, LR 21:945 (September 1995), amended by the Office of Environmental Assessment, Environmental Planning Division, LR 28:467 (March 2002), LR 29:1463 (August 2003), repromulgated LR 30:230 (February 2004), amended by the Office of Environmental Assessment, LR 31:1577 (July 2005), amended by the Office of the Secretary, Legal Affairs Division, LR 32:819 (May 2006), LR 33:2360 (November 2007), LR 35:648 (April 2009), amended by the Office of the Secretary, Legal Division, LR 39:3269 (December 2013).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:2001 et seq., and in particular Section 2074(B)(3) and (B)(4)