By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — As Illinois pork and livestock producers became subject to new federal requirements for permits covering discharges of manure from Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) on Dec. 22, a citizens’ environmental group lauded the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) for increasing the public’s access to information relating to CAFO permits by making the application materials available online. 

Illinois Citizens for Clean Air and Water (ICCAW) and the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) issued a news release touting their involvement in implementing significant changes in the Illinois General National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, which pertains to CAFO discharges into “waters of the United States.” The finalized permit allows IEPA to regularly inspect and monitor water conditions near CAFOs to ensure waste products do not contaminate water sources.

“The (IEPA) should be applauded for increasing the public’s access to general permitting information by making application materials available online,” stated ICCAW’s Danielle Diamond. “This furthers the intent of the federal Clean Water Act by affording the public a meaningful opportunity to participate in the regulatory process.”

Karen Hudson, identified in the news release as an Elmwood (Peoria County) resident, added that the issuance of the general permit provides citizens with an enforceable tool with which to combat local water pollution. “These positive changes have been a long time coming and we welcome this new ability to make it easier for us to monitor and react when waste contaminates the land and water,” Hudson said.

The ICCAW touts the availability of pertinent CAFO application details online as “pivotal for citizens who need quick access to information about CAFOs polluting nearby water and streams,” concluding that since citizens can now receive information online, “there should be more transparency in permitting.” 

A major aspect of the new CAFO regulations is the requirement that nutrient management plans (NMPs) detailing how manure is applied by producers be site-specific and tailored to an individual CAFO. Manure transferred from the farm may also be traced by the public through topographic maps detailing the waste’s site of origin, destination, weight and intended acreage use.

An unknown – but low – number of producers still use open pit systems on their farms, according to Tim Maiers, communications director for the Illinois Pork Producers Assoc. Maiers said that thanks to modern, enclosed production facilities and years of educating farmers in advance of the new CAFO regulations, the chance for an accidental manure discharge affecting a water source are slim.

“We knew the (CAFO) permit had been coming for the last several years. It’s something we’ve been talking to producers about, and we’ve been working with the NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) to get (NMPs) in place and encouraging producers to go through with (applying),” Maiers said last week. “We’ve also worked with the University of Illinois Extension to develop an NMP tool online for producers. I think it shows the commitment we’ve had as an industry and as an organization in making sure we continue to improve our environmental performance.”

Maiers added that most producers are not overly upset about having to apply for the new CAFO permit if it helps assure the public and their rural neighbors of their commitment to environmental stewardship – and common sense.

“(Producers) are living on that land and drinking that water. Typically, they are going to be the first ones impacted (by a manure spill) so it’s obviously in their best interests to do all they can to comply. It’s not just a PR thing to them, its their livelihood – and stewardship is part of what they do,” Maiers said.

“Complying with regulations is part of the business of being a pork producer, and they take that responsibility very seriously.”

ICCAW Attorney Jessica Warbler said that Illinois could serve as a model for transparency of vital CAFO records to other states. “What began as a local effort to strengthen enforcement of CAFOs has resulted in the empowerment of citizens and permitting requirements with the potential for national significance,” she stated.