Factory Farming & EPA: Running Up The White Flag On Waste In Our

Waterways

Hog Farmers Receive Less than 25¢ for Every Grocery Dollar Spent on Pork

www.foodandwaterwatch.org

Hog Farmer; 24.5%Retail, Marketing, En-

ergy, Labor, etc.; 75.5%

Source: USDA

http://www.dpichicken.org/newsletters/docs/timely%20topics%20june%2010.pdf

"Led by the Maryland Department of Agriculture, a program has been created to help farmers earn money while providing polluters with the opportunity to increase their pollution to the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. The nutrient trading program is an entirely voluntary program to help point sources of pollution, such as government sewage treatment plants, increase their nutrient loadings to receiving bodies of water as the population increases.”

Water Quality & Human Health Impacts

• “The most visible threat to maintaining good water quality in Iowa surface waters is the recent expansion of the livestock industry.”—IDNR (2001)

• Evidence of groundwater and drinking water contamination

“We do not believe everyone is doing their part to protect Iowa’s waterways.” – Des Moines Water Works

2007 Iowa Petition

• Failure to issue permits

• Failure to issue adequate permits

• Failure to act on violations

• Failure to seek adequate penalties

• Failure to inspect

• Zero permits for hundreds of hog confinement dischargers

• Permits for open feedlots that are less stringent than federal standards

• Dozens of factory farm discharges with no penalties

• Weak penalties that fail to deter violations

• Inadequate staff and resources to maintain inspection program

EPA de-delegation petition regulations:

…”The Administrator will respond in writing to any petition to commence withdrawal proceedings.”

Federal Administrative Procedure Act:

Citizens can compel agency action “unreasonably delayed.”

EPA Region 7 report findings:

• DNR is not issuing NPDES permits to CAFOs when necessary.

• DNR has not conducted comprehensive inspections to determine whether unpermitted CAFOs need Clean Water Act permits.

• DNR ignores its own enforcement policy when addressing permit violations.

• DNR penalties for factory farm violators are inadequate.

• Land application setbacks from waterways do not meet EPA requirements.

"It's plain as a pikestaff the state needs to do a better job." - Karl Brooks, Regional Administrator, EPA Region 7

StateNumber of Facilities

Defined as CAFOs Under the Clean

Water Act

CAFOs with NPDES Permits

% of CAFOs with NPDES Permits

Iowa 3,055 131 4.3%Kansas 446 446 100%

Missouri 554 27 4.9%Nebraska 862 374 43%

Totals(Region 7) 4,917 978 19.9%

Next Steps…- Work plan agreement

- Factory farm permit rulemaking

- Other opportunities to hold factory farms accountable

Organize/Build Political Power!!

Michele MerkelCo-Director, Food & Water JusticeFood & Water Watchmmerkel@fwwatch.org www.foodandwaterwatch.org

Tarah HeinzenAttorneyEnvironmental Integrity Projecttheinzen@environmentalintegrity.orgwww.environmentalintegrity.org