A Mexican farmhand does chores in Vermont dairy barn. Photo by Terry J. Allen
The Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation permit sets up rules that seek to end pollution from medium-sized farms by preventing nutrient-rich materials like manure, silage, and fertilizer to wash into streams and lakes. The CAFO permit is open for public comment until April 29.
Marli Rupe, the CAFO program manager for the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), said the new permit is a requirement of the federal Clean Water Act.
“It’s also something the agency feels is important to do to clean up the waters of the state,” she said. “It’s a chance for us in the Agency of Natural Resources to work with farmers in eliminating discharges.”
The CAFO permit for medium-sized farms is a new requirement on top of a permit these farms already must get from the Agency of Agriculture. But not all medium-sized farms will have to get a CAFO permit – only those that pollute.
The CAFO permit is administered by ANR and, as per federal regulations, requires the farm’s plan for managing nutrients and fertilizers to be open to public comment and approval by the secretary of ANR.
Rupe said there are 155 medium-sized farms in the state and that she hopes none of them will need the permit. A medium-sized farm is defined as one having, in the case of a dairy farm, between 200 and 699 cattle (the numbers are different for different farm animals).
If a farm discharges pollutants without a permit, it could be fined. A farm with a permit would only be allowed to have a discharge of pollutants if there was a 25-year storm event, about 4 inches of rain in 24 hours.
The secretary of ANR could also ask certain large or small farms with discharges to get a permit. Currently, small farms are not required to have a nutrient discharge permit under federal law and large farms are already covered under individual CAFO permits.
However, if a large farm has a discharge, it may be asked to undergo an additional permitting process to work toward eliminating that pollution.
Discharge of nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen into water bodies can lead to algae blooms and even what have been called “dead zones.” Phosphorus is the main culprit in freshwater bodies like Lake Champlain, where it fuels increasingly frequent and troublesome algae blooms during the summers.
Nitrogen runoff into the Connecticut River has been linked to a dead zone in the Long Island Sound, where the water is so devoid of oxygen that fish and other aquatic creatures can’t survive.
Although farms are not the only source of these nutrients—wastewater treatment plants and household lawn fertilizer application are also part of the problem—they are a significant one.
Farms inadvertently release pollutants into waterways in several ways. Rupe said a farm might have a silage or manure pile that gets washed into streams during storms. In that case, the farmer would need to repair or build a better container for those piles. Farmers that apply manure or chemical fertilizer to their fields would have to take care not to apply too much.
Rupe doesn’t expect farms will voluntarily reveal that they are discharging farm waste into waterways. Instead, she thinks these farms will be identified during regular inspections by the Agencies of Agriculture and Natural Resources, as well as the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
Rupe said that the program is not meant to be punitive but to help farmers help the environment.
“Our goal is to get rid of discharges,” said Rupe. “And to find the resources and technical help that any farmer needs to do that.”
She doesn’t expect the program to completely wipe out runoff from farms. “No permit program is going to fix the problem. The idea is to find out where the problems are and get the technical resources on the ground to fix the problem.”
The draft permit is open for public comment until April 29. Comments can be addressed to Rupe at marli.rupe@state.vt.us. The ANR will host three public hearings to solicit comments:
-- March 26, 1-3 pm, at Yankee Farm Credit Office in St. Albans
-- March 27, 1-3 pm, at UVM Extension Office, St. Johnsbury
-- March 29, 10 am-12 pm, at UVM Extension Office, Middlebury
The permit is available online for perusal at http://vtwaterquality.org/stormwater/htm/sw_3-9100.htm.
Rupe said if anyone has any questions about the new permit program, “the best thing to do is call me.” She can be reached at (802) 490-6171.
Read the story on VTDigger here: New permit program targets mid-sized farms with pollution issues.