A U.S. federal court has ruled for the first time that manure from livestock facilities can be regulated as solid waste, a decision hailed by environmentalists as opening the door to potential legal challenges against facilities across the country, according to Drovers CattleNetwork.
A large dairy in Washington State, Cow Palace Dairy, polluted groundwater by over-applying manure to soil, ruled Judge Thomas Rice of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.
This is the first time the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, which governs the disposal of solid and hazardous waste, has been applied to animal waste from a farm.
The district court ruling, if upheld, could affect any large livestock facility that produces more manure than it can responsibly manage, including poultry, beef and hog farms.