EPA finds Vermont’s ANR not fully implementing CAFO permit program; Legislature faces policy choice

Mike O'Grady, legislative counsel, briefed a legislative committee on federal and state water-quality law and the recent dispute between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Vermont over how agricultural discharges are regulated.

O'Grady said EPA concluded that the Agency of Natural Resources, the delegated NPDES authority for Vermont, “was not appropriately implementing the [CAFO] program” and required corrective action. “ANR personnel must inspect all potentially jurisdictional farms to determine if a CAFO permit is required,” he said, summarizing EPA’s findings and required steps.

Why it matters: EPA’s finding bears directly on the Lake Champlain total maximum daily load (TMDL) and the state’s Clean Water Initiative. The TMDL distributes required pollutant reductions across point sources (permitted discharges) and nonpoint sources such as agricultural runoff; if one program changes, the state must show the TMDL’s required load reductions will still be achieved.

How the law works: O'Grady explained that the Clean Water Act allows EPA to delegate NPDES permitting to states and that Vermont has long used two parallel approaches: ANR’s NPDES authority and an agricultural nonpoint program administered by the Agency of Agriculture. He said EPA’s 2003 CAFO rule and subsequent guidance encouraged states to use agricultural agencies and voluntary measures for medium and small operations,…