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.
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.
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.
