A complete description of the Unified National Strategy for Animal Feeding Operations developed by the USDA and the EPA. Despite tremendous progress in cleaning up U.S. waterways, 40% of the waterways assessed by States still do not meet goals for fishing, swimming or both. Runoff from city streets, agricultural activities, including animal feeding operations (AFOs), and other sources continues to degrade the environment and puts drinking water at risk. Chapters: introduction and guiding principles; AFOs and water quality and public health risks; the national goal and performance expectation for AFOs; relationship of voluntary and regulatory programs; strategic issues; and roles.

Air Emissions from Animal Feeding Operations: Current Knowledge, Future Needs discusses the need for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to implement a new method for estimating the amount of ammonia, nitrous oxide, methane, and other pollutants emitted from livestock and poultry farms, and for determining how these emissions are dispersed in the atmosphere. The committee calls for the EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to establish a joint council to coordinate and oversee short - and long-term research to estimate emissions from animal feeding operations accurately and to develop mitigation strategies. Their recommendation was for the joint council to focus its efforts first on those pollutants that pose the greatest risk to the environment and public health.