Can someone help me understand this, please. In 2011 the Fifth Circuit Court in New Orleans ruled the EPA can't require NPDES permits for factory farms unless they actually discharge manure into US waterways. From their ruling: "These cases leave no doubt that there must be an actual discharge into navigable waters to trigger the CWA's requirements and the EPA's authority."

So CCI, IEP, and Sierra Club are trying to get the state to require CWA permits if CAFOs have had previous discharges. Clear enough. But the DNR says they want to work with producers who have spills instead of making them get NPDES permits. And "Kris Lancaster, an EPA spokesman for Region 7, said Iowa’s “proposed rules are consistent with federal requirements.”

What am I missing here? How are these proposed rules consistent with federal requirements? 

Thanks,

Diane