Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation - States' Role and Authority

States' Role and Authority

The role of the federal government in environmental issues is generally to set national guidelines and the state governments’ role is to address specific issues. The framework of federal goals is as such that the responsibility to prevent, reduce, and eliminate pollution are the responsibility of the states.

The management of water and air standards follows this authoritative structure. States that have been authorized by the EPA to directly issue permits under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System of the Clean Water Act (also known as "NPDES states") have received jurisdiction over CAFOs. As a result of this delegation of authority from the EPA, CAFO permitting procedures and standards may vary from state to state.

Specifically for water pollution, the federal government establishes federal standards for wastewater discharge and authorized states develop their own wastewater policies to fall in compliance. More specifically, what a state allows an individual CAFO to discharge must be as strict or stricter than the federal government's standard. This protection includes all waterways, whether or not the water body can safely sustain aquatic life or house public recreational activities. Higher standards are upheld in some cases of pristine publicly owned waterways, such as parks. They keep higher standards in order to maintain the pristine nature of the environment for preservation and recreation. Exceptions are in place for lower water quality standards in certain waterways if it is deemed economically significant. These policy patterns are significant when considering the role of state governments’ in CAFO permitting.