Washington CAFO law attacked from all sides

The dairy industry and environmental groups have come up with 19 legal challenges to the Washington Department of Ecology’s new manure-control law.The Pollution Control Hearings Board, the forum for appealing Ecology actions, has scheduled a week-long hearing for Dec. 4-8 in Tumwater on the state’s Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation permits. The appeals did not keep the rules from taking effect in March.“Ecology developed these permits with the best available science and broad stakeholder input,” department spokeswoman Jessica Payne wrote Monday in an email. “We believe they are protective of water quality and represent best practices for the facilities the permits will cover. Ecology stands by these permits.”CAFO permit terms are a major battleground for farm groups and environmental organizations in Washington. Provisions will dictate for at least the next five years how dairies keep manure from polluting groundwater and surface water.Previously, the state Department of Agriculture oversaw how dairies store and spread manure, and few dairies had CAFO permits issued by Ecology.The expanded permit will require more soil testing, put more limits on fertilizing with manure and place more scrutiny on manure lagoons, even ones built to Natural Resources Conservation Service standards.The Washington State Dairy Federation and Washington Farm Bureau dispute the science and economics behind the rules. A coalition of environmental groups allege Ecology has fallen short of upholding the federal Clean Water Act.The two sides agreed to combine their grievances into one appeal and also agreed on a list of legal issues to raise.