| Introduction
Welcome to the web home of the MDE Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations/ Maryland Animal Feeding Operations Program. This is where you will find all of the information necessary to understand Maryland regulations for animal feeding operations and if you are affected, how to comply with these regulations. If, after reading this webpage you have any questions, please call Gary Kelman at 410-537-4423 or send an e-mail to gkelman@mde.state.md.us.
Background
Maryland’s regulations for Animal Feeding Operations (AFOs) became effective January 12, 2009. The Maryland General Discharge Permit for Animal Feeding Operations, applicable to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) and Maryland Animal Feeding Operations (MAFOs), became effective December 1, 2009. CAFOs were required by the regulations to submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) to comply with the permit by February 27, 2009. Any CAFOs that have not yet done so must submit a NOI and other required documents as soon as possible. MAFOs must submit a NOI and other required documents by March 1, 2010.
Together, the regulations and General Discharge Permit are designed to control nutrients from Maryland’s largest agricultural animal operations and are a significant step forward in protecting the Chesapeake Bay, local waterways, and our drinking water. The AFO regulations and General Discharge Permit are just one part of a comprehensive, statewide effort to address all sources of pollution that are impairing our waterways: wastewater treatment plants, industrial discharges, septic systems, urban/suburban stormwater runoff, and air emissions from power plants, vehicles, and trucks.
Maryland’s regulations for Animal Feeding Operations (AFOs)
General Discharge Permit for Animal Feeding Operations
What is an AFO? CAFO? MAFO?
An animal feeding operation (AFO) is a lot or facility where the following conditions are met:
- animals have been, are or will be stabled or confined and fed or maintained for a total of 45 days or more in any 12-month period; and
- crops, forage or post-harvested residues are not sustained in the normal growing season over any portion of the lot or facility.
Use the AFO size chart to determine if your animal feeding operation is small, medium, or large.
A CAFO is a medium or large animal feeding operation that "proposes to discharge" contaminated runoff or wastewater. "Proposes to discharge" is an EPA term that means that you have a conveyance system, such as a swale, ditch, or pipe, to remove contaminated runoff or wastewater from the production areas to surface waters of the State. According to EPA CAFO regulations, the CAFO owner or operator determines whether the AFO “proposes to discharge’ contaminated runoff or wastewater. The CAFO owner/operator makes this determination based on the operation’s design, construction, operation, and maintenance because he or she is the one most familiar with the drainage patterns at the specific AFO site and is best equipped to make the determination of whether or not a discharge may occur. A small AFO is not a CAFO unless MDE or the EPA specifically designates the operation as a CAFO. Reasons for this include the potential for one or more pollutants in the discharge to contribute to stream impairment.
A MAFO is a large animal feeding operation that does not “propose to discharge” contaminated runoff or wastewater. If your operation is a medium or small AFO that does not “propose to discharge,” you are not a MAFO unless MDE designates you as one. Reasons for designating a MAFO include the type or location of animal waste storage or animal access to surface water is likely to cause a discharge of pollutants to ground or surface waters of the state.
AFO SIZE CHART
Production areas
EPA CAFO REGULATIONS
CAFO/MAFO Tools
Access the CAFO/MAFO Calculator
CAFO NOI & Public Information Search
CAFO/MAFO Calculator: To make the CAFO/MAFO determination easier, MDE has developed a CAFO/MAFO Calculator to determine if you may be a CAFO or a MAFO. Click here to use the calculator. If you are still not sure, call Gary Kelman at the number listed at the top of this page.
CAFO/MAFO Public Information Search: Use this tool to find out information about the CAFOs or MAFOs who have applied for coverage under the General Discharge Permit. Click here to use the search tool.
Documents Needed to Apply for Coverage
Once you determined that you are a CAFO or a MAFO, you must submit to MDE a “Notice of Intent” (NOI) form.
If you are a CAFO, you must also submit your USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) comprehensive nutrient management plan (CNMP) with the NOI. If you do not have a CNMP, until you can obtain one, fill out a CNMP Status Form and submit it to MDE with your NOI. To apply for assistance in obtaining a CNMP, contact your local NRCS office.
If you are a MAFO, you must submit to MDE your MDA nutrient management plan and your soil conservation and water quality plan (conservation plan) with the NOI. If a MAFO has a CNMP, submit that to MDE with your NOI instead of the MDA NMP and conservation plan.
In order to obtain coverage under the General Discharge Permit, you must be registered with the Maryland Department of Assessment and Taxation (SDAT). The business or entity’s information provided in the NOI must match the information in the SDAT register. Please contact Gary Kelman if you want to apply as an individual or self proprietorship.
LINK TO NOI
LINK TO CNMP STATUS FORM
NOTE: The permit fee and annual fee for coverage under the CAFO/MAFO General Discharge Permit have been waived until further notice.
Financial Assistance
Funding for conservation practices to help farmers meet the new requirements is available through federal funding (including an additional $5.1 million in Farm Bill funding this year above the $6.4 in already allocated federal funds, and more in future years). State funding continues through the Chesapeake 2010 Trust Fund and a variety of other sources. These funds are provided as usual through MDA and NRCS.
To start the process, contact your soil conservation district and they will guide you to the appropriate funding source. Their website is: http://www.mda.state.md.us/resource_conservation/technical_assistance/index.php
Documents Answering Basic Questions
MDE has developed a list of frequently asked questions, a checklist describing the entire procedure and a list of due dates.
Other Documents of Interest
USDA_Natural Resource Conservation Service Contact List
MDE and MDA AFO Letter
New Source CAFO Design Criteria
Do I Need to Apply for an NPDES CAFO Permit?
Recent Mailings to Applicants
MDE sent informational packages to those farmers who had applied for coverage under the CAFO/MAFO General Discharge Permit:
November 5, 2009 Mailing to NOIs Without CNMPs
December 10, 2009 Mailing to 1996 CAFO General Discharge Permit Holders
Mailing to CAFO applicants With CNMPs
Public Notices
All applications for CAFO or MAFO permits are subject to public notification requirements. Pursuant to COMAR 26.08.04.09N(3)(c), “publication of public notices or public notification required by this regulation may be accomplished by posting on MDE’s web site at www.mde.state.md.us. The search initiated on this page will serve as notification to the public of the status of animal feeding operations (AFOs) which have applied for coverage under the General Discharge Permit for Animal Feeding Operations (General Permit), State Discharge Permit No. 09AF and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Discharge Permit No. MDG01. This permit became effective on December 1, 2009.
If you would like to search for a list of farms that applied for coverage under the CAFO/MAFO General Discharge Permit whose application packages have been determined by MDE to be administratively complete, click here.
Public Process for CAFOs and MAFOs:
CAFOs: A public hearing will be held upon request to review MDE’s preliminary approval of the required plan(s) if a written request is received on or before twenty (20) days of the publication of notice on the MDE website. The request should indicate the name, address, and daytime telephone numbers of the person making the request, the name of any party whom the person making the request may represent, and the name of the operation. Interested parties may also submit written comments whether or not a hearing is requested. Any written comments concerning the preliminary approval must be received by the close of business thirty (30) days of the publication of notice on MDE website. Requests for a public hearing or written comments should be sent to: Mr. Horacio Tablada, Director, Land Management Administration, 1800 Washington Blvd, Baltimore, MD 21230-1719. Upon prior request, MDE will provide an interpreter for the deaf or hearing-impaired persons.
MAFOs: MAFOs are not subject to a public hearing. However, interested parties may submit written comments. Any written comments concerning the preliminary approval must be received by the close of business within thirty (30) days of the publication of the notice on the MDE website. Written comments should be sent to: Mr. Horacio Tablada, Director, Land Management Administration, 1800 Washington Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21230-1719.
CAFOs and MAFOs: The NOI and required plan(s) will be available for review at the location indicated in the search on the MDE website as “Main branch of local library”, and at MDE by appointment. For further information regarding this notice, to schedule an appointment to review the NOI or the required plan(s), or to request an interpreter, please contact Ms. Gail Castlemen, Hearings Administrator at (410) 537-3310.
History
This information is presented for those who are interested in the history of the development of the regulations and the 2009 General Discharge Permit. The following documents are archival in nature and should not be viewed as current requirements.
*Note: MDE issued its final determination to issue a Maryland General Permit for AFOs on January 2, 2009; however, issuance of the General Permit was delayed by a legal challenge. On May 5, 2009, the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings issued a Proposed Decision upholding the permit against this legal challenge, and Petitioners Assateague Coastkeeper, Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper, C. & B. Schelts, & Waterkeeper Alliance filed exceptions to that ruling. On September 2, 2009, following further briefing and oral argument, MDE issued the Final Decision, holding that the Petitioners have not placed any material fact in dispute and that the proposed General Permit conforms to federal and State law. The issuance of this Final Decision allows MDE to issue the General Permit and to place applicable facilities under the new requirements designed to protect the waters of the State. The Petitioners filed an appeal of the Final Decision in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City on October 2, 2009. In the absence of a court-issued stay of the Final Decision, MDE and MDA agree that it is in the best interest of Maryland's waterways, facilities subject to Maryland’s AFO requirements, and all Marylanders for MDE to issue the permit, effective December 1, 2009. This will allow existing AFOs and those wishing to construct new AFOs to implement the necessary environmental controls under the clear and consistent guidelines provided by the permit.
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