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Applying for a Notice of Change for a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation under Texas Water Quality General Permit TXG920000

When to use a notice of change (NOC) to make changes to a concentrated animal feeding operation or CAFO, types of NOCs, how specific changes are handled, and what to expect for processing and review.

On this page:

When to Use a Notice of Change (NOC)
Three Types of NOCs Under the CAFO General Permit
How to Apply

When to Use a Notice of Change (NOC)

To change your address or phone number.
To change the animal type or increase the number of confined animals (but not a significant expansion as defined in the CAFO General Permit).
To add new land management units (LMUs), change the boundary of or reconfigure existing LMUs, or add crops and yield goals.
To construct a new retention control structure (RCS), modify existing RCSs, or change wastewater production and use.
To make any changes to your site map.
To make changes to your air authorization.

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Three Types of NOCs Under the CAFO General Permit

1. Substantial Change NOC (for large CAFOs)

The following large CAFO changes require that you submit a substantial change NOC:

Changing animal type.
Increasing headcount (with 50% or less increase in manure production from the initial authorization).
Adding new LMUs.
Increasing the size of an existing LMU.
Adding crops or yield goals.

See the Substantial Change webpage for details. TCEQ files substantial changes with the Office of the Chief Clerk (OCC) for public notice and public participation. Note: A manure production increase of greater than 50% from the initial authorization is a significant expansion and cannot be processed as an NOC.

2. Non-substantial Change NOC (for large CAFOs)

The following changes to large CAFOs require that you submit a non-substantial change NOC:

Decreasing the number of confined animals.
Removing LMUs or reducing the size of an existing LMU.
Removing crops/yield goals.

See the Non-substantial Change webpage for details. TCEQ will review, approve, and post the public notification notice to the TCEQ GP webpage for Non-substantial Change. The non-substantial change applications will not be filed with the OCC and do not require public participation.

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3. Regular NOC (for large CAFOs and state only CAFOs)

The following changes can be made by both large CAFOs and state only CAFOs using the notice of change form TCEQ 20511 Microsoft Word Document :

Address or phone number change.
Update to facility maps or a change to your property boundary (but not using the added property for land application).
Construction of RCSs or modification of existing RCSs.
Changes to wastewater production and use.
Changes to air authorization.

Upon receipt of the application, TCEQ will review and approve these changes, but they will not be filed with the OCC or uploaded to the TCEQ webpage.

State Only CAFO NOC

If you operate a state only CAFO as defined in the CAFO general permit, submit a NOC form (TCEQ 20511) Microsoft Word Document to make any of the following changes:

Change the animal type.
Increase or decrease the number of confined animals (headcount).
Add new land management units (LMUs).
Change the boundary of or reconfigure existing LMUs.
Construct a new retention control structure (RCS) or modify existing RCSs.
Make any change to your site map.

For a change to animal type or an increase in the number of confined animals, both of the following must be true for the application to be approved:

The per cent change in manure production is less than 50% of the initial authorization (when the state only CAFO was originally approved).
The proposed headcount increase does not change the authorization type to the large CAFO headcount threshold (making the facility a large CAFO as defined in the CAFO GP).

TCEQ will review and approve these changes to the site. They are not filed with the OCC and are not subject to the public review process (public participation).

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How to Apply

To obtain coverage under this general permit, follow these steps:

Read general permit (TXG920000) to make sure it applies to your situation.
Prepare a Pollution Prevention Plan. For more details, see Part III of the general permit (TXG920000).
Submit a notice of change application package which includes:

Notice of Change (NOC) Form (TCEQ 20511)
Supporting documents such as the manure production and RCSs design calculations, facility maps

If you have questions, please see our Contact Page or e-mail us at CAFO@tceq.texas.gov.

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