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Large-scale livestock producers facing a new federally imposed, water-quality permitting deadline are looking for a little compliance assistance, and the agency that will oversee the process hopes to provide that helping hand.

George Utting, a scientist with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said farmers whose operations are classified as confined animal feeding operations (CAFO) should move quickly to apply for the necessary permits, but only after taking advantage of guidance now available through EPA or cooperating state agencies.

In a water quality conference during the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 85th annual meeting, Utting predicted that, nationwide, the more than 15,500 farming operations that use confinement feeding facilities will be subject to the permitting requirements laid out in regulations adopted last year.

Most of those farms fall under the EPA’s definition of a large CAFO, which includes operations having at least 1,000 beef cattle, 700 dairy cattle, 2,500 mature hogs or 125,000 chickens, he said.

All large CAFOs will be required to apply for permits, Utting said, and about 20 percent of so-called, medium-sized CAFOs also will be subject to the rules because of their potential for discharging into nearby surface water.

The new program’s goals, Utting said, are intended to have more to do with ensuring water quality than with limiting producers’ flexibility in managing their operations.

Permitting isn’t the only major regulatory change impacting livestock producers, Utting said. The new rule addresses land application of manure, specifies certain required management practices by farmers, requires the adoption of nutrient management plans and dictates that farmers file annual reports spelling out their facilities and compliance procedures.

Utting said some producers, primarily those whose operations were defined as CAFOs under the old water quality rules, are required by law to apply for permits immediately. Other farmers brought under the CAFO standards by last year’s regulatory change have until 2006 to complete their permitting process.

Typically, farmers who file the applications will be asked to define their facilities, report livestock numbers, and quantify the amount of manure their farm generates and the land area where that manure is applied.

Utting said state environmental protection agencies will generally take the lead in administering the permitting program for CAFOs, and most are expected to meet their own deadlines for processing applications.

A new EPA guidance document has been posted on the agency’s Web site, and may be accessed via the OFBF Web site, www.ofbf.org