US poultry industry supports final EPA water rule

The U.S. poultry industry has said it is satisfied in response to the Environmental Protection Agency's final action on a 2011 proposed rule that would have required Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations to provide detailed location information and farm demographics for virtually every family farm engaged in the production of commercial poultry and egg products in the U.S., as part of an effort to ensure each operation was implementing practices that protect water quality. Each operation would have had to submit information to the agency regardless of whether or not they discharge to a water of the U.S.
In announcing the final action, the EPA pointed out that although collecting Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations information is important, the agency believes an efficient approach that does not duplicate efforts is the appropriate next step. The EPA will collect information for each operation using existing sources, including state National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System programs and other programs at the federal, state and local level.
The poultry industry said it is pleased that the EPA recognized the burden the proposed rule would place on the industry. Furthermore, the poultry industry appreciates that the agency heard the concerns voiced by industry during the comment period and accepted the recommendation to collect this information from existing sources.