By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent

PEORIA, Ill. — According to Michael Formica, chief environmental policy counsel for the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), good stewardship has allowed pork producers and their state associations to work closely with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in crafting many of the newest regulations involving environmental and public health issues.

“Without any question, EPA regulators – and even activists – have to admit we’ve come a million miles,” said Formica, addressing a large crowd of central Illinois farmers attending the 2009 Illinois Pork Expo in Peoria on Feb. 3. “(Pork producers) are the shining example of the livestock sector.”

Formica appeared at the two-day Expo, hosted by the Illinois Pork Producers Association, to shed light on new regulations for confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). He told producers that though state statutory and regulatory revisions are still being addressed through NPPC-spurred litigation, the deadline to submit their NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permits for their operations is Feb. 27.

“All animal feeding operations are subject to the new regulations; it doesn’t matter if you are a large CAFO or a small pasture operation. If you discharge manure into a waterway, you’ve got to have a permit,” said Formica, who has over 15 years experience representing agricultural and industrial clients on environmental and land use issues.

“If you have a deep-pit or a lagoon, you are controlling your manure and you don’t have to get a permit – though you may want to consider getting one anyway,” he said.

Formica explained that the focus of the new regulations is on large CAFO’s, or those holding more than 2,500 swine, each weighing 55 pounds or more, or 10,000 swine of less than 55 pounds. However, an accidental discharge from any operation could have dire financial consequences for the producer – large or small.

He summarized the three options producers have when deciding whether to file for a permit. He said there is no legal duty to apply for an NPDES permit, but producers had better be sure there is absolutely no chance of contamination from a discharge into a waterway.

“If you get the NPDES permit, it will give you complete protection in the event you do have a discharge,” Formica said. “The other option, and this is where most producers are going to fall, is the ‘no discharge’ certification which will provide you some of the protections the permit would have. If you have a discharge, EPA will still come after you for having that unpermitted discharge, but they won’t come after you for having failed to apply for a permit.

“What that means is the greatest fine they can get from you is $32,500 for the unpermitted discharge, but in reality it could be $500,000 if they can go after you for not having a permit at all.”

Not filing for an NPDES permit or ‘no discharge’ certification is not recommended. “If you do that, you’re going to have inspectors crawling all around your barn,” Formica said. “If you have a discharge, you’re going to be facing potentially huge penalties.”
Filing for an NPDES permit will require submission of a nutrient management plan and opens your operation to public review and inspection, Formica added.

Even with the new CAFO regulations and the impressive penalties they impose on violators, many activist groups are still not satisfied with the law.

“The environmentalists are upset that not everyone is going to have to apply for a permit. They’re also upset that the EPA didn’t require you to put on advanced pathogen treatment technology and advanced antibiotic treatment technology,” said Formica. “They really see your operation as being not that much different than a municipal sewage system. They want to put you out of business.”