Minnesota CAFO Permits on Public Notice

Minnesota has two main permits for CAFOs/Feedlots: National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and State Disposal System (SDS). NPDES permits are more strict and are regulated under the Federal Clean Water Act for facilities that discharge to Waters of the United States (WOTUS). SDS permits are less strict and regulated under the state’s program for facilities that don’t discharge to WOTUS. Both permits typically have a 30-day public notice period. View permits on public notice on the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) website.

You can submit a comment online or via mail anytime within the 30-day public comment period, which starts on the date of notice. Comments must be received by MPCA by the end of the 30-day period. MPCA has a list of public notice permits online. Select “Feedlot Permit” under the Type filter to just see feedlot permits. Each permittee has a profile that you can view on this list. You can review documents and make a comment within these profiles. You can also submit written comments via mail to the following address: Rebecca Novey Minnesota Pollution Control Agency 12 Civic Center Plz Ste 2165 Mankato, MN 56001.

MPCA requires any submitted comments to include:

1. Your interest in the permit application or the preliminary determination to issue coverage under a general permit;
2. The action you wish the MPCA or Permittee to take, including specific references to the application materials you believe should be changed; and
3. The reasons supporting your position, stated with sufficient specificity as to allow the MPCA to investigate the merits of the position.

View other tips from MPCA on how to make an effective public comment on their website.

Yes, you can request a public informational meeting by submitting a petition to MPCA within the 30-day public notice period. If you’d like MPCA to hold a public informational meeting, you should include all information identified above in a comment, and also include a statement of the reasons you want MPCA to hold a public informational meeting and the issues you’d like the agency to address at the meeting.

Yes, you can subscribe to an email list to be notified whenever a CAFO permit is on public notice. To sign-up, visit the MPCA website. Fill out the required information and select “Feedlots” under the Public Notices section. You can then select the counties for which you want to receive notifications.