| March 2021 |
Your chance to send an email for clean water concerns!
The Illinois pig industry is the fourth largest hog producer in the nation. 99% of all meat, dairy, and eggs consumed in the U.S. are from Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). Data from a USDA 2019 report showed 98.3% of pigs, 99.8% of turkeys, 98.2% of egg-laying hens, and over 99.9% of chickens raised for meat come from factory farms.
Currently the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is taking written comments on its proposed Draft General National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for CAFOs. This permit is to regulate polluted water discharges into our streams, lakes, and other water resources. Please take a moment to send a comment for clean water! IEPA should do better: while there are thousands of CAFOs in Illinois, only about 13 have this General NDPES water discharge permit according to the group Illinois Coalition for Clean Air and Water (ICCAW).
Key concerns are:
- All CAFOs should be required to have a General IEPA NPDES Permit if they are not required to have a specific site NPDES.
- Special conditions must be added to prohibit manure applications on tiled fields, which can direct contaminated water much more quickly to drainage ditches and streams before being absorbed into the ground.
- All CAFOs must do water monitoring and reporting on a quarterly basis.
More information about Illinois CAFOs is provided by the ICCAW factsheet.
Deadline is March 25th! Comments can be emailed to epa.publichearingcom@illinois.com.
You can mail written comments to:
Mr. Jeff Guy
Illinois EPA Hearing Officer
P.O. Box 19276
1021 North Grand Ave
Springfield, Il 62974-9276
Either way, make sure your email or letter subject line contains CAFO General NPDES Permit ILA010.
Check out the IEPA Public Notice with details on sending a comment.