Missouri Dairy Business Update
Volume 2, Number 12
December 2002

On December 16th, 2002 the US Environmental Protection Agency released it final ruling on the revised Confined Animal Feeding Operations, CAFO, ruling. This EPA website contains a complete guide to the revised rules: http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/afo/cafofinalrule.cfm

Is my operation a CAFO?

Your operation is an animal feeding operation (AFO) if

• You confine animals for at least 45 days in a 12-month period and
• There 's no grass or other vegetation in the confinement area during the normal growing season

Your operation is a CAFO if

• It meets the definition of an AFO and
• The operation meets one of the following CAFO definitions

Large CAFOs

• Your operation is a Large CAFO if it has at least
  • 700 mature dairy cows

Medium CAFOs

• Your operation is a Medium CAFO if
  • A man-made ditch or pipe carries manure or wastewater from your operation to surface water.
  • Your animals come into contact with surface water running through the area where they 're confined
  • And your operation has at least 200 mature dairy cows

Designated CAFOs

• No matter what size your operation is, if it is an AFO, it may be designated a CAFO. If your permitting authority inspects your operation and finds that it 's adding pollutants to surface waters, you might need a NPDES permit.