For example, if an animal  feeding operation was a significant contributor of pollutants to federally  regulated water, EPA could designate the operation as a CAFO. The Number of Large Farms Raising Animals Has Increased, but Specific Data on CAFOs Are Not Available

Because no federal agency collects accurate and consistent data on the  number, size, and location of CAFOs nationwide, it is difficult to  determine precise trends in CAFOs over the last 30 years. According to  USDA officials, the data USDA collects for large farms raising animals can  be used as a proxy for estimating trends in CAFOs nationwide. Using these  data, we determined that between 1982 and 2002, the number of large  farms raising animals has increased sharply, from about 3,600 to almost  12,000. Table 1 shows the changes  in the number of large farms by animal type for 1982 through 2002. Without a systematic and coordinated process for  collecting and maintaining accurate and complete information on the  number, size, and location of permitted CAFOs nationwide, EPA does not  have the information it needs to effectively regulate these operations. EPA  is currently working with the states to develop and implement a new  national data system to collect and record operation-specific information. Large Farms That Raise Animals Can Produce Thousands of Tons of Manure Each Year, and Regional Clustering of Farms Can Exacerbate Manure Management Problems

The amount of manure a large farm that raises animals can generate  primarily depends on the types and numbers of animals raised on that  farm, and the amount of manure produced can range from over 2,800 tons  to more than 1.6 million tons a year. To further put this in perspective, the  amount of manure produced by large farms that raise animals can exceed  the amount of waste produced by some large U.S. cities. Studies Have Identified Impacts of Pollutants from Animal Waste, but EPA Has Not Assessed the Extent of Such Impacts

Since 2002, at least 68 government-sponsored or peer-reviewed studies  have been completed on air and water pollutants from animal feeding  operations. Of these 68 studies, 15 have directly linked pollutants from  animal waste generated by these operations to specific health or  environmental impacts, 7 have found no impacts, and 12 have made  indirect linkages between these pollutants and health and environmental  impacts. Water quality. Furthermore, it is uncertain  if and when EPA will develop a process-based model that considers the  interaction and implications of all sources of emissions at an animal  feeding operation. EPA’s first decision in this context was made in December  2007. The 2005 Waterkeeper Alliance  Inc. v. EPA decision forced EPA to revise its 2003 rule for permitting  CAFOs and abandon its approach of requiring all CAFO operators to  obtain a permit. The Rapanos Decision Has Affected EPA’s Overall Ability to Regulate Pollutants Entering Federally Regulated Waters

The Supreme Court’s 2006 Rapanos decision has also affected EPA’s  enforcement of the Clean Water Act because the agency believes that it  must gather significantly more evidence to establish which waters are  subject to the act’s permitting requirements. In order to more effectively determine the extent of air emissions from  animal feeding operations, the Administrator of the Environmental  Protection Agency should  reassess the current data collection efforts, including its internal controls,  to ensure that the National Air Emissions Monitoring Study will provide  the scientific and statistically valid data that EPA needs for developing its  air emissions protocols;   provide stakeholders with information on the additional data that it plans  to use to supplement the National Air Emissions Monitoring Study; and    establish a strategy and timetable for developing a process-based model  that will provide more sophisticated air emissions estimating  methodologies for animal feeding operations. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

For this report we were asked to determine the (1) trends in concentrated  animal feeding operations (CAFOs) over the past 30 years; (2) amount of  waste they generate; (3) findings of recent key academic, industry, and  government research of the potential impacts of CAFOs on human health  and the environment, and the extent to which the Environmental  Protection Agency (EPA) has assessed the nature and severity of these  identified impacts; (4) progress that EPA and states have made in  regulating and controlling the air emissions of, and in developing protocols  to measure, air pollutants from CAFOs that could affect air quality; and (5)  extent to which recent court decisions have affected EPA and the states’  ability to regulate CAFO discharges that impair water quality. High concentrations of  nutrients in waters are a  result of CAFO manure and  degrade water quality. U.S. Department of Interior. Does not address human  impacts.
Why GAO Did This Study

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) are large livestock and poultry operations that raise animals in a confined situation. CAFOs can improve the efficiency of animal production but large amounts of manure produce can, if not properly managed, degrade air and water quality. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for regulating CAFOs and requires CAFOs that discharge certain pollutants to obtain a permit. This report discusses the (1) trends in CAFOs over the past 30 years, (2) amounts of waste they generate, (3) findings of key research on CAFOs' health and environmental impacts, (4) EPA's progress in developing CAFO air emissions protocols, and (5) effect of recent court decisions on EPA's regulation of CAFO water pollutants. GAO analyzed U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) data from 1982 through 2002, for large farms as a proxy for CAFOs; reviewed studies, EPA documents, laws, and regulations; and obtained the views of federal and state officials.

What GAO Found

Because no federal agency collects consistent, reliable data on CAFOs, GAO could not determine the trends in these operations over the past 30 years. However, using USDA data for large farms that raise animals as a proxy for CAFOs, it appears that the number of these operations increased by about 230 percent, going from about 3,600 in 1982 to almost 12,000 in 2002. Also, during this 20-year period the number of animals per farm had increased, although it varied by animal type. Moreover, GAO found that EPA does not have comprehensive, accurate information on the number of permitted CAFOs nationwide. As a result, EPA does not have the information it needs to effectively regulate these CAFOs. EPA is currently working with the states to establish a new national data system. The amount of manure generated by large farms that raise animals depends on the type and number of animals raised, but large operations can produce more than 1.6 million tons of manure a year. Some large farms that raise animals can generate more raw waste than the populations of some U.S. cities produce annually. In addition, according to some agricultural experts, the clustering of large operations in certain geographic areas may result in large amounts of manure that cannot be effectively used as fertilizer on adjacent cropland and could increase the potential of pollutants reaching nearby waters and degrading water quality. Since 2002, at least 68 government-sponsored or peer-reviewed studies have been completed that examined air and water quality issues associated with animal feeding operations and 15 have directly linked air and water pollutants from animal waste to specific health or environmental impacts. EPA has not yet assessed the extent to which these pollutants may be impairing human health and the environment because it lacks key data on the amount of pollutants that are being emitted from animal feeding operations. As a first step in developing air emissions protocols for animal feeding operations, in 2007, a 2-year nationwide air emissions monitoring study, largely funded by industry, was initiated. However, as currently structured, the study may not provide the scientific and statistically valid data it was intended to provide and that EPA needs to develop air emissions protocols. Furthermore, EPA has not established a strategy or timetable for developing a more sophisticated process-based model that considers the interaction and implications of all emission sources at an animal feeding operation. Two recent federal court decisions have affected EPA's ability to regulate water pollutants discharged by CAFOs. The 2005 Waterkeeper case required EPA to abandon the approach that it had proposed in 2003 for regulating CAFO water discharges. Similarly, the 2006 Rapanos case has complicated EPA's enforcement of CAFO discharges because EPA believes that it must now gather significantly more evidence to establish which waters are subject to the Clean Water Act's permitting requirements.