LANSING, MI — Michigan regulators have finalized stricter pollution controls for the state’s largest livestock operations following a multi-year legal battle over how factory farms manage animal waste.

In an Oct. 29 decision, Phil Roos, director of the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) approved the updated 2020 general permit for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or CAFOs, with changes aimed at reducing runoff.

The decision supersedes the 2015 permit that’s governed Michigan CAFOs for the past decade and reinstates provisions weakened by an administrative law judge this year.

It follows a 2024 Michigan Supreme Court decision in the Michigan Farm Bureau v. EGLE case, which affirmed the agency’s authority to impose conditions beyond federal minimums provide

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