Regulation of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations: The Legal Context

Abstract

Tasty or not, the human health and legal ramifications of literally “bringing home the bacon” have intensified. The recent declining number of family pig farms has been paralleled with a rise in corporate-run hog complexes.¹ These complexes, commonly referred to as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations or “CAFOs,” often manage tens of thousands of animals at a single site. See U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Guide Manual on NPDES Regulations for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, at 4 (December 1995). Such large numbers of animals “concentrated” in a relatively small area produce enormous amounts of fecal waste. This waste is laced with a variety of compounds that may adversely affect human health. See health and environmental impacts of CAFOs, infra, at 10, 11. Effects range from water pollution due to excess nitrogen and phosphorus, to breathing difficulties from ammonia and hydrogen sulfide gases. See J. Schwab, Planning and Zoning for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, Planning Advisory Service Report No. 482 at 12 (December 1998). Numerous nuisance lawsuits have arisen as citizens fight to prevent or abate these adverse health affects resulting from CAFOs.