General Permit for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
Notice of Tentative Decision Intent To Issue the General Permit for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
TENTATIVE DECISION
The Commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection ("DEEP") hereby gives
notice that a tentative decision has been reached to issue for a period of five years the General Permit
for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (“CAFO General Permit”).
COMMISSIONER’S FINDINGS/REGULATORY CONDITIONS
In accordance with applicable federal and state law, the Commissioner has made a tentative decision
that issuance of this proposed CAFO General Permit would not cause pollution of the waters of the state.
The proposed CAFO General Permit, if issued, will require registration for eligible discharges, treatment
of wastewater as may be required, and compliance with effluent limitations, permit conditions and best management practices.
PROPOSED GENERAL PERMIT
The proposed CAFO General Permit was developed in accordance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) Concentrated Animal Feeding
Operations (“CAFOs”) Program, with the purpose of controlling point-source discharges associated with
areas of animal confinement, feeding, and maintenance at CAFOs.
Any Person or Municipality seeking coverage under the authority of the CAFO General Permit for a
discharge associated with a CAFO, and any other discharge to groundwater and/or surface water of agricultural wastewaters under an approved Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan, as such
discharges are defined under Section 2 of such general permit, shall file a registration under this
general permit with the Commissioner.
Please refer to the Fact Sheet associated with this notice for more detailed information on the proposed
CAFO General Permit.
COMMISSIONER’S AUTHORITY
The Commissioner is authorized to issue the CAFO General Permit and approve or deny any registration
under this general permit pursuant to sections 22a-430 and 22a-430b of the Connecticut General Statutes
and the Water Discharge Permit Regulations (sections 22a-430-3 and 4 of the Regulations of Connecticut
State Agencies).
INFORMATION REQUESTS/PUBLIC COMMENT
Interested persons may obtain a copy of this public notice, the proposed CAFO General Permit and the
general permit fact sheet on the DEEP website at: http://www.ct.gov/deep/publicnotices. Questions
may be directed to Joseph Wettemann at 860-424-3803 or joseph.wettemann@ct.gov.
Before making a final decision on this proposed CAFO General Permit, the Commissioner shall consider written comments on the general permit from interested persons that are received within thirty (30) days
from the publication date of this notice. Written comments should be directed via mail to Joseph
Wettemann, Bureau of Materials Management and Compliance Assurance, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106-5127 and should also be submitted via
electronic mail to joseph.wettemann@ct.gov.
PETITIONS FOR HEARING
The Commissioner may hold a public hearing prior to issuance of the general permit if in the
Commissioner's discretion the public interest will be best served thereby, and shall hold a hearing upon receipt of a petition signed by at least twenty-five persons. Notice of any public hearing shall be
published
at least thirty (30) days prior to the hearing. Petitions for a hearing shall be submitted within
thirty (30)
days from the date of publication of this public notice and should include the name of the
general permit noted above and also identify a contact person to receive notifications. Petitions should
also identify a
person who is authorized to engage in discussions regarding the application and, if
resolution is reached, withdraw the petition. In order to facilitate the filing of requests for hearing during
the COVID-19
emergency and consistent with the Department’s Temporary Directive, the Office of Adjudications will
accept electronically-filed petitions in addition to petitions submitted by mail. Petitions
with required signatures may be filed by email to deep.adjudications@ct.gov or mailed to the DEEP
Office of
Adjudications, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106. Within thirty (30) days of filing the petition,
original
petitions that were filed electronically must also be mailed to the Office at the above-noted
address.
If the original petition exists only in electronic format or signatures were produced using a
computer or
typewriter, the petition must be submitted with a statement bearing the wet-ink signature
of the
petitioner that the petition is only available in that format and has been submitted to satisfy the
requirement that an original petition be filed. If a hearing is held, timely notice of such hearing will be published in a newspaper of general circulation and posted on the DEEP website at ww.ct.gov/deep. Additional information is available at
www.ct.gov/deep/adjudications.
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is an Affirmative
Action/Equal Opportunity Employer that is committed to complying with the requirements of
the Americans with Disabilities Act. Please contact joseph.wettemann@ct.gov if you are seeking
a communication aid or service, have limited proficiency in English, or require some other accommodation. If you wish to file an ADA or Title VI discrimination complaint, you may submit
your complaint to the DEEP Office of Diversity and Equity at (860) 418-5910 or via email at deep.accommodations@ct.gov. In order to facilitate efforts to provide an accommodation,
please request all accommodations as soon as possible following notice of any agency hearing,
meeting, program or event.
/s/Katie S. Dykes
Commissioner
Published in the Hartford Courant, Connecticut Post, Waterbury Republican-American, New London Day,
New Haven Register and The Chronicle on February 22, 2022.