CAFO Regulations

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires large Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) to have a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. On December 15, 2002 the EPA published an updated CAFO rules that require more livestock operations to apply for these permits and added requirements to the permit. In 2004, the Nebraska legislature updated our state rules to meet the standards of the EPA CAFO rules and provide Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality the authority to implement this program in Nebraska. This legislation resulted in an updated Title 130, Rules and Regulations Pertaining to Livestock Waste Control, which combined the federal NPDES permit and our past state permit into a single NPDES permit program.

To help people understand these new rules individuals on the Livestock and Poultry Environmental Stewardship (LPES) team developed a series of 24 CAFO Fact Sheets. These explain questions such as ‘Do I need an NPDES permit?’, ‘How do I apply for one?’, requirements for each type of livestock, annual reports, and lagoon liquid level markers, among many others.
Resources on CAFO Regulations:

- CAFO Fact Sheets
- EPA Producer’s Compliance Guide for CAFO’s
- EPA Permit Writers Compliance Guide for CAFO’s
- Nebraska Title 130. Rules and Regulations Pertaining to Livestock Waste Control
- Nebraska Title 130 Application Forms, Guidance Documents, and other help. Click on “Publications - Forms”, and finally click on “Livestock Program”)
- EPA CAFO Regulations
- Professional Engineers and Technical Advisors For Livestock Waste Control Facilities

Questions or comments contact
Mary Jarvi, Webmaster