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Nevada: Animal Waste Management
Nevada's natural conditions tend to make proper animal waste management easier. Nevada's arid climate makes accidental wet weather discharges rare. Generally, the state's larger CAFOs also have sufficient crop land available for land application of their manure.
Dairies are the largest group of AFOs subject to water pollution regulations in Nevada. In 1998, Nevada's 150 dairy operations produced 54.2 million gallons of milk. Nevada has approximately 30 CAFOs.
The majority of Nevada's dairies are found east of Reno, in the
Fallon and Yerrington areas, and northwest and northeast of Las
Vegas, in the Moapa and Amargosa Valley areas. The Nevada
Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) 
is
working with the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS), the state Division of Agriculture and the 12 largest dairies
in the state to analyze animal waste containment options in the
event of an unusually large (25-year, 24-hour) storm. The dairies
plan to include this analysis in their waste discharge permit application.
Regulations and Permits
To protect groundwater, state regulations are more stringent than federal rules. The state allows no stormwater contamination exemption. Thus, many of these facilities will be issued state groundwater permits, not NPDES permits.
Nonetheless, NDEP plans to evaluate the AFOs subject to both state and federal permit requirements. NDEP will require permits for facilities that discharge or intend to discharge pollutants.
Helpful Links
The following links provide helpful information about state, county and local activities to support effective animal waste management: