Ohio § 903.01
Full text of Ohio Ohio Revised Code § 903.01, with citation guidance and answers to common questions.
§ 903.01.
As used in this chapter: (A) “ Agricultural animal ” means any animal generally used for food or in the production of food, including
cattle, sheep, goats, rabbits, poultry, and swine; horses; alpacas; llamas; and
any other animal included by the director of agriculture by rule. “Agricultural animal” does not include fish or other aquatic animals regardless
of whether they are raised at fish hatcheries, fish farms, or other facilities that
raise aquatic animals. (B) “ Animal feeding facility ” means a lot, building, or structure where both of the following conditions are met: (1) Agricultural animals have been, are, or will be stabled or confined and fed or maintained
there for a total of forty-five days or more in any twelve-month period. (2) Crops, vegetative forage growth, or post-harvest residues are not sustained in the
normal growing season over any portion of the lot, building, or structure. “Animal feeding facility” also includes land that is owned or leased by or otherwise
is under the control of the owner or operator of the lot, building, or structure and
on which manure originating from agricultural animals in the lot, building, or structure
or a production area is or may be applied. Two or more animal feeding facilities under common ownership shall be considered to
be a single animal feeding facility for the purposes of this chapter if they adjoin
each other or if they use a common area or system for the disposal of manure. (C) “Animal feeding operation” has the same meaning as “animal feeding facility.” (D) “ Cattle ” includes, but is not limited to, heifers, steers, bulls, and cow and calf pairs. (E) “ Concentrated animal feeding facility ” means an animal feeding facility with a total design capacity equal to or more than
the number of animals specified in any of the categories in division (M) of this section. (F) “ Concentrated animal feeding operation ” means an animal feeding facility that complies with one of the following: (1) Has a total design capacity equal to or more than the number of animals specified
in any of the categories in division (M) of this section; (2) Satisfies the criteria in division (M), (Q), or (EE) of this section; (3) Is designated by the director of agriculture as a medium or small concentrated animal
feeding operation pursuant to rules. (G) “ Discharge ” means to add from a point source to waters of the state. (H) “ Federal Water Pollution Control Act ” means the “Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972,” 86 Stat. 816, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et. seq., as amended, and regulations adopted under it. (I) “ Finalized ,” with respect to the programs required under division (A)(1) of section 903.02 and division (A)(1) of section 903.03 of the Revised Code , means that all rules that are necessary for the administration of this chapter have
been adopted and all employees of the department of agriculture that are necessary
for the administration of this chapter have been employed. (J) “ General permit ” has the meaning that is established in rules. (K) “ Individual permit ” has the meaning that is established in rules. (L) “ Installation permit ” means a permit for the installation or modification of a disposal system or any
part of a disposal system issued by the director of environmental protection under division (J)(1) of section 6111.03 of the Revised Code . (M) “ Large concentrated animal feeding operation ” means an animal feeding facility that stables or confines at least the number of
animals specified in any of the following categories: (1) Seven hundred mature dairy cattle whether milked or dry; (2) One thousand veal calves; (3) One thousand cattle other than mature dairy cattle or veal calves; (4) Two thousand five hundred swine that each weigh fifty-five pounds or more; (5) Ten thousand swine that each weigh less than fifty-five pounds; (6) Five hundred horses; (7) Ten thousand sheep or lambs; (8) Fifty-five thousand turkeys; (9) Thirty thousand laying hens or broilers if the animal feeding facility uses a liquid
manure handling system; (10) One hundred twenty-five thousand chickens, other than laying hens, if the animal
feeding facility uses a manure handling system that is not a liquid manure handling
system; (11) Eighty-two thousand laying hens if the animal feeding facility uses a manure handling
system that is not a liquid manure handling system; (12) Thirty thousand ducks if the animal feeding facility uses a manure handling system
that is not a liquid manure handling system; (13) Five thousand ducks if the animal feeding facility uses a liquid manure handling
system. (N) “ Major concentrated animal feeding facility ” means a concentrated animal feeding facility with a total design capacity of more
than ten times the number of animals specified in any of the categories in division
(M) of this section. (O) “ Manure ” means any of the following wastes used in or resulting from the production of agricultural
animals or direct agricultural products such as milk or eggs: animal excreta, discarded
products, bedding, process waste water, process generated waste water, waste feed,
silage drainage, and compost products resulting from mortality composting or the composting
of animal excreta. (P) “ Manure storage or treatment facility ” means any excavated, diked, or walled structure or combination of structures designed
for the biological stabilization, holding, or storage of manure. (Q) “ Medium concentrated animal feeding operation ” means an animal feeding facility that satisfies both of the following: (1) The facility stables or confines the number of animals specified in any of the following
categories: (a) Two hundred to six hundred ninety-nine mature dairy cattle whether milked or dry; (b) Three hundred to nine hundred ninety-nine veal calves; (c) Three hundred to nine hundred ninety-nine cattle other than mature dairy cattle or
veal calves; (d) Seven hundred fifty to two thousand four hundred ninety-nine swine that each weigh
fifty-five pounds or more; (e) Three thousand to nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine swine that each weigh less
than fifty-five pounds; (f) One hundred fifty to four hundred ninety-nine horses; (g) Three thousand to nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine sheep or lambs; (h) Sixteen thousand five hundred to fifty-four thousand nine hundred ninety-nine turkeys; (i) Nine thousand to twenty-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine laying hens or broilers
if the animal feeding facility uses a liquid manure handling system; (j) Thirty-seven thousand five hundred to one hundred twenty-four thousand nine hundred
ninety-nine chickens, other than laying hens, if the animal feeding facility uses
a manure handling system that is not a liquid manure handling system; (k) Twenty-five thousand to eighty-one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine laying hens
if the animal feeding facility uses a manure handling system that is not a liquid
manure handling system; (l) Ten thousand to twenty-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine ducks if the animal
feeding facility uses a manure handling system that is not a liquid manure handling
system; (m) One thousand five hundred to four thousand nine hundred ninety-nine ducks if the
animal feeding facility uses a liquid manure handling system. (2) The facility does one of the following: (a) Discharges pollutants into waters of the United States through a ditch constructed
by humans, a flushing system constructed by humans, or another similar device constructed
by humans; (b) Discharges pollutants directly into waters of the United States that originate outside
of and that pass over, across, or through the facility or otherwise come into direct
contact with the animals at the facility. “ Medium concentrated animal feeding operation ” includes an animal feeding facility that is designated by the director as a medium
concentrated animal feeding operation pursuant to rules. (R) “ Mortality composting ” means the controlled decomposition of organic solid material consisting of dead
animals that stabilizes the organic fraction of the material. (S) “ NPDES permit ” means a permit issued under the national pollutant discharge elimination system
established in section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 1 and includes the renewal of such a permit. “ NPDES permit ” includes the federally enforceable provisions of a permit to operate into which
NPDES permit provisions have been incorporated. (T) “ Permit ” includes an initial, renewed, or modified permit to install, permit to operate,
NPDES permit, and installation permit unless expressly stated otherwise. (U) “ Permit to install ” means a permit issued under section 903.02 of the Revised Code . (V) “ Permit to operate ” means a permit issued or renewed under section 903.03 of the Revised Code and includes incorporated NPDES permit provisions, if applicable. (W) “Person” has the same meaning as in section 1.59 of the Revised Code and also includes the state, any political subdivision of the state, any interstate
body created by compact, the United States, or any department, agency, or instrumentality
of any of those entities. (X) “Point source” has the same meaning as in the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. (Y) “ Pollutant ” means dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash, sewage,
garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive
materials except those regulated under the “Atomic Energy Act of 1954,” 68 Stat. 919, 42 U.S.C. 2011 , as amended, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, and industrial,
municipal, and agricultural waste, including manure, discharged into water. “Pollutant” does not include either of the following: (1) Sewage from vessels; (2) Water, gas, or other material that is injected into a well to facilitate production
of oil or gas, or water derived in association with oil and gas production and disposed
of in a well, if the well that is used either to facilitate production or for disposal
purposes is approved by the state and if the state determines that the injection or
disposal will not result in the degradation of ground or surface water resources. (Z) “ Process generated waste water ” means water that is directly or indirectly used in the operation of an animal feeding
facility for any of the following: (1) Spillage or overflow from animal watering systems; (2) Washing, cleaning, or flushing pens, barns, manure pits, or other areas of an animal
feeding facility; (3) Direct contact swimming, washing, or spray cooling of animals; (4) Dust control. (AA) “ Process waste water ” means any process generated waste water and any precipitation, including rain or
snow, that comes into contact with manure, litter, bedding, or any other raw material
or intermediate or final material or product used in or resulting from the production
of animals or direct products such as milk or eggs. (BB) “ Production area ” means any of the following components of an animal feeding facility: (1) Animal confinement areas, including, but not limited to, open lots, housed lots,
feedlots, confinement houses, stall barns, free stall barns, milkrooms, milking centers,
cowyards, barnyards, medication pens, animal walkways, and stables; (2) Manure storage areas, including, but not limited to, manure storage or treatment
facilities; (3) Raw material storage areas, including, but not limited to, feed silos, silage bunkers,
commodity buildings, and bedding materials; (4) Waste containment areas, including, but not limited to, any of the following: (a) An egg washing or egg processing facility; (b) An area used in the storage, handling, treatment, or disposal of mortalities; (c) Settling basins, runoff ponds, liquid impoundments, and areas within berms and diversions
that are designed and maintained to separate uncontaminated storm water runoff from
contaminated water and to contain and treat contaminated storm water runoff. (CC) “ Public meeting ” means a nonadversarial public hearing at which a person may present written or oral
statements for the director of agriculture's consideration and includes public hearings
held under section 6111.12 of the Revised Code . (DD) “ Rule ” means a rule adopted under section 903.10 of the Revised Code . (EE) “ Small concentrated animal feeding operation ” means an animal feeding facility that is not a large or medium concentrated animal
feeding operation and that is designated by the director as a small concentrated animal
feeding operation pursuant to rules. (FF) “Waters of the state” has the same meaning as in section 6111.01 of the Revised Code . 1
33 U.S.C.A. § 1342.
Frequently Asked Questions About Ohio § 903.01
What does Ohio Revised Code § 903.01 cover?
Section 903.01 is part of the Ohio Revised Code, the codified statutory law of Ohio. It sets out the legal rule or procedure described in the text above. Statutes are amended regularly, so always verify against the official source.
How do I cite Ohio § 903.01?
A common citation format is "Ohio Revised Code § 903.01" (Ohio). Legal writing may require the code abbreviation, section number, and year or edition. Match the style required by your court, professor, or publisher.
Is this the official text of Ohio law?
No. This page is for research and education and may not include the most recent amendments. For official current law, check the Ohio official source linked on this page or consult a licensed Ohio attorney.
How does Ohio § 903.01 apply to my situation?
Statutes are interpreted in context, and application depends on your specific facts. Only a licensed attorney in Ohio can advise on how this section applies to you. Contact your state or local bar association for a referral.
Sources & Verification
Not legal advice. Verify against the official source and consult a licensed attorney in Ohio.