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EPA orders Nordman Feedlots to stop discharges

Release Date: 03/01/2006
Contact Information: Phillippa Cannon, (312) 353-6218, [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 06 - OPA032

CHICAGO (Mar. 1, 2006) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has ordered Nordman Feedlots Inc., Oregon, Ill., to stop all unauthorized discharges of manure and wastewater and comply with the Clean Water Act. EPA also ordered the company to apply to Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for a discharge permit under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.

"When pollutants from livestock manure and other animal waste discharge into surface or ground water they can create a threat to public health and water resources," said EPA regional Water Division director Jo-Lynn Traub.

In June 2005, EPA inspected the feedlot and found it is a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) under the Clean Water Act because 2,000 cattle were confined at the site. The inspector also reported that pollutants from the facility were not contained and polluted runoff was discharging to an unnamed ditch that drains to the Kyte River, a tributary of the Rock River. The Clean Water Act prohibits manure and wastewater discharges from CAFOs unless authorized by a permit. Regulations require any person who discharges or proposes to discharge to apply for a permit.

The order also requires Nordman Feedlots to develop a plan to contain and adequately store manure and wastewater from its production area and submit the plan to EPA, Illinois EPA and the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

Manure and wastewater from animal feeding operations have the potential to contribute pollutants to the environment such as nitrogen and phosphorus, organic matter, sediments and pathogens.