EPA Orders Rocking BS Ranch to Cease and Desist Unauthorized Discharges

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued a cease and desist administrative order to the Rocking BS Ranch near Wetumka, Oklahoma, for violations of the Clean Water Act, including an unauthorized discharge of pollutants flowing into an unnamed tributary to Middle Creek and then into Middle Creek in Hughes County, Oklahoma.

The ranch, an unpermitted Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO), is located approximately three miles south and eight miles east of Wetumka. The ranch has been ordered to immediately stop all discharges of pollutants from its facility. The ranch has been given seven days to properly reconstruct a lagoon spillway where the discharge occurred, and 30 days to finalize the reconstruction and survey the lagoon to determine the quantity of solid manure buildup and total capacity of the lagoon. The ranch has also been given 60 days to submit to EPA a summary and photographs of completed work, and 90 days to apply for permit coverage.

“This action is a reminder to those who own and operate animal feeding operations of their responsibility to protect public health and the environment,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. “When these facilities fail to follow the rules, immediate actions will be taken to ensure compliance with the law.”

In April 2007, an Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry (ODAFF) inspector conducted an on-site inspection of the Rocking BS Ranch and observed an unauthorized discharge from the west lagoon entering an unnamed tributary to Middle Creek. The facility was also cited for discharging without a permit.

Based on these findings, the owner and operator of the Rocking BS Ranch has been ordered to immediately take action to bring the facility into compliance with the Clean Water Act.