She also developed expertise in microbial source identification in water when her laboratory was one of five core laboratories to participate in the California state-funded Source Identification Protocol Project, tasked with determining the ideal set of host-associated DNA-based markers to identify the sources of fecal 3 Case: 23-2146, 03/05/2024, DktEntry: 24.1, Page 13 of 36 pollution in the env. [...] Indeed, most of the studies cited in this brief were submitted with the petition or otherwise part of EPA’s record, as noted by the citations to the administrative record and excerpts of record throughout this brief and in the table of contents. [...] “The very nature of a CAFO and the amount of animal wastes generated constitute a large threat to the quality of the waters of the nation.”12 Indeed, for over 10 Humane Soc'y of the United States v. [...] 10 Case: 23-2146, 03/05/2024, DktEntry: 24.1, Page 20 of 36 “[n]utrient pollution is one of America’s most widespread, costly and challenging environmental problems.”15 In recent decades, the magnitude of nutrient pollution from CAFOs has increased because the number of animals raised in CAFOs has grown, while the number of CAFOs has decreased, thereby increasing concentration and manure disposal. [...] Antimicrobial Residues in Animal Waste and Water Resources Proximal to Large-Scale Swine and Poultry Feeding Operations, 299 The Science 12 Case: 23-2146, 03/05/2024, DktEntry: 24.1, Page 22 of 36 fostering the proliferation of antibiotic resistant bacteria and multidrug resistant bacteria in fecal matter from livestock.21 These bacteria can migrate to local waterways through land application of w.
Authors
- Pages
- 36
- Published in
- United States of America
Table of Contents
- TABLE OF AUTHORITIES 3
- AUTHORSHIP AND PREPARATION OF BRIEF 10
- STATEMENT OF INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE 10
- INTRODUCTION & SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT 14
- ARGUMENT 18
- I. EPA’s regulations fail to control CAFO water pollution. 18
- A. CAFOs are a major contributor to surface water quality impairments. 18
- B. Pathogens, pharmaceuticals, and hormones from CAFO pollution threaten human health. 20
- II. EPA’s regulations do not address the primary means of release of water pollution from CAFOs. 25
- A. EPA does not meaningfully regulate land application of CAFO waste, which routinely results in nutrients and other pollution entering surface water. 25
- B. EPA ignores that CAFO waste lagoons leak even when they meet design standards. 33
- CONCLUSION 35
- CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE 36