The Center has been involved in projects addressing the problems associated with animal waste, including waste disposal, point and non-point discharges, storm water runoff, wastewater discharge, bacterial and chemical pollution, human health, and degradation of ground and surface waters.

Waste from animal agriculture has become a prominent environmental quality issue.  Animal waste is being linked to some environmental problems, especially water pollution.  Policy makers have focused on this problem in response to the growing number of sites where degradation related to animal waste has been reported. 

Managing the environmental effects of intensive animal rearing and feeding operations has long been a problem confronting the livestock industry. These facilities, which include confined feeding operations and feedlots, are a specialized part of the livestock production process, largely separate from cropland agriculture. In recent years, manure and waste-handling and disposal problems from intensive animal production have begun to receive attention as these facilities increase in size and the effects of these problems reach beyond the industry to affect others.

The EPA estimates that animal agriculture contributes about one-third to one-half of all the non-point surface water pollution in the United States, primarily from the improper application of animal wastes from confinement operations and grazing.  The EPA's National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program provides a means for addressing the problem by regulating the discharge from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) by permit.  CAFOs may potentially contaminate nearby creeks, streams, rivers, lakes, and estuaries from runoff and discharges during normal operations.  The primary pollutants are nitrogen, phosphorus, and pathogens, as well as antibiotics.

Suggested links for Animal Waste Researchers