Multi-State Vegetative Treatment System Technology Implementation

Federal and state agencies continue to be concerned with potential risks to water bodies from cattle feedlot runoff. EPA’s revised CAFO regulations allow the use of alternative performance standards to control discharge from feedlots over 1,000 head. EPA has established criteria stating that any alternative must be capable of providing equivalent performance to that achieved by a properly designed and operated 25-year, 24-hour discharge control system. Research has shown that if properly constructed and managed, these alternative treatment technologies can achieve functional equivalency to total containment systems at less cost to the producer. This project will expand on a pilot effort to design and evaluate the effectiveness of vegetative non-basin alternative feedlot technologies in six Midwestern states.