Cleaner Water
Reducing Water Pollution from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
President Bush supported a final rule that protects surface water from animal waste generated by over 15,000
concentrated animal feeding operations. The rule requires, for the first time, control of runoff resulting
from the spreading of manure on fields. The amount of phosphorus released into America's environment is
expected to be reduced by about 56 million pounds annually, while annual nitrogen releases are expected to be
slashed by more than 100 million pounds. These projections represent a 25 percent reduction over current
levels. The annual release of over 2 billion pounds of sediments and about one million pounds of metals is
also expected to be averted, helping to protect both the health of the American people and the environment. In
2002, 4,500 operations were covered by permits. As a result of the new rule, EPA expects that up to 11,000
additional facilities will be required to apply for permits by 2006.