Everyaction, Hundreds of massive factory farms that raise pigs and cattle for slaughter and produce dairy and eggs operate in Colorado. These industrial facilities — many in places already besieged by pollution from the state's dirty oil and gas industry — put out enormous amounts of waste. Colorado's beef cattle farms alone pump out some 22.6 billion pounds of manure every year. If that waste is released into the state's already-exhausted waterways, it can destroy aquatic ecosystems, hurt and kill native species, and put people's health at risk. But we have a chance to rein in this dangerous mess. Colorado is now taking public comments on a draft of its “General Permit for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations,” which will set rules and standards for a majority of those large operations. This is our opportunity to tell the state to put communities and water quality first by strengthening its permit rules and stopping pollution before it occurs. Tell the state's Department of Public Health & Environment that enough is enough — it's time to work together clean up Colorado's waterways. |