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Department of Ecology News Release - December 1, 2004
04-216
OLYMPIA - A series of hearings in January will outline what some animal feeding operations must do to protect water quality under a new general permit being proposed by the Washington Department of Ecology.
The permit would require "concentrated animal-feeding operations" (CAFOs) - such as cattle feedlots, dairies, and poultry or pig producers - to manage manure to avoid polluting rivers, lakes and underground aquifers. All large CAFOs would need to obtain a permit. Some smaller operations also would require a permit.
Under new federal rules, animal producers are required to develop and implement plans for managing manure and submit reports annually to the state. Operators must show that they have an adequate amount of storage for manure. They also must keep animals out of surface water and assure manure used as fertilizer is applied appropriately to avoid pollution.
The revised CAFO general permit is scheduled to be reissued in March 2005. The old dairy general permit expires at the same time.
"In 2003, the federal Environmental Protection Agency revised the regulation for CAFOs," explained Andrew Kolosseus, a water quality specialist with Ecology. "If you own or operate a concentrated feeding operation, you must apply for a permit."
Workshops will begin at 6 p.m., followed by a formal public hearing when both written and oral comments on the draft permit will be accepted. Sessions are as follows:
Written comments on the permit will be accepted through Jan. 28, 2005, and may be submitted by e-mail to akol461@ecy.wa.gov, by fax at (360) 407-6426, or mailed to Andrew Kolosseus, Department of Ecology, P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, Wash., 98504-7600.
For more information, call Andrew Kolosseus at (360) 407-7543.
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Media contact: Joye Redfield-Wilder, public information manager, (509) 575-2610
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
