Advocacy groups are urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revise its approach to regulating concentrated animal feeding operations

Dozens of advocacy groups are urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revise its approach to regulating concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) under the federal Clean Water Act, including strengthening its permitting program.Thirty-five organizations, led by Food and Water Watch, filed a legal petition with the EPA asking for stronger oversight of industrial livestock pollution.The groups argue that only a fraction of CAFOs have permits, and those that do exist are ineffective. The petition asks EPA to close loopholes that enable CAFOs to avoid permitting.Specifically, the petition maintains that an agricultural storm water exemption from regulation is too broadly interpreted.The petition also asks EPA to require pollution monitoring and reporting, restrict waste disposal in order to better protect water quality, and regulate CAFO discharges of a wider range of pollutants than permits currently address, including the heavy metals and pharmaceuticals found in industrial livestock waste.