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Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations result in Hazardous environment

On August 13th 2005, an estimated three million gallons of liquid cow manure spilled from its containment pond located in the Middle Black River watershed, of Lewis County, about 3 miles south of Lowville, NY. The source of the spill originated from a place known as Marks Farm. Marks Farm started out as a small family owned dairy barn with around 250 head of cattle. Today, the farm milks 3000 dairy animals and cares for 1520 replacement heifers and calves. The farm also produces 2500 acres of corn and 2100 acres of hay per year. Marks Farm had benefited from the economic growth and had expanded into a fully operational Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO). CAFOs are defined by the government as an industrialized agricultural operation where animals are kept or raised in confinement (Environmental Integrity Project, 2004, 15). A typical CAOF will have hundreds or thousands of animals housed in structures that offer no bedding material. The animals are forced to stand on metal or concrete floors while their urine and feces drop into pits below the confinement areas. The waste is then transported to large open air cesspools (lagoons); often these lagoons can be the size of several football fields. The waste from these pools is then pumped out to fields where it can be used as fertilizer for crops. Some operations utilize irrigation sprayers to shoot the liquefied urine and feces onto the fields; this often leads to animal waste entering bodies of water because of leaks, spills, or just over application to crops. The Environmental Protection Agency EPA as well as state and local Resource Management departments are the agencies responsible for monitoring and developing regulations for these operations. At the time of the incident in N.Y only specific CAFOs were required to obtain permits for the cesspool lagoons. The type of housing the animals were in, (open vs. enclosed),...