A Permit to Install (PTI) is issued by the Director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) to producers who are in the planning stages of developing or modifying a Concentrated Animal Feeding Facility (CAFF).  Its purpose is to help assure the proposed building, its facilities and location will adequately support such an operation.

A complete Permit to Install application generally includes the following completed forms: 

1. General Information Form 3900-001
2. Additional Owner Operator Form 3900-001b
3. Compliance Information Form 3900-002
4. Permit to Install Form 3900-005

The information required with these forms includes:

A scaled map to show the dimensions of the manure storage or treatment facilities, boundaries of the CAFF, location and siting distances from the manure storage or treatment facilities, location of water supply wells, and the approximate location of all known subsurface drains within 100 feet of the proposed manure storage or treatment facilities.

Results of subsurface geological study of the area, including information on soils; groundwater sampling and analysis; hydrology; and geology and topography of the land area used for the manure storage or treatment facility.

Designs, plans, and detailed engineering drawings for the proposed construction of the facility with grading plans designed to manage storm water runoff.

A General NPDES Permit for construction storm water may be required from OEPA. If so, it should include plans to minimize water quality impacts during construction using best management practices for erosion and sediment control.

When is a Permit to Install required?

A farmer must submit a Permit to Install to the department before starting any new construction or modification of a CAFF. In most instances a Permit to Operate (PTO) is also required as part of an application to construct or modify a CAFF.  A modification to a farm would include: an increase in the design capacity of an existing facility by 10 percent or more (animals); any structural change that would alter compliance with siting criteria; any changes to their Insect and Rodent Control Plan; various changes for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) operations, including changes to the operation after a permit was issued or changes in rules or standards; and changes to the manure storage or treatment facility that result from an expansion of more than 10 percent in treatment or storage capacity, a significant change in technology, or closure of part of the manure storage or treatment facility.

What is the application fee?

The one-time application fee for a Permit to Install is $2,250 payable to the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

What documentation is needed after construction?

The requirements of every Permit to Install (PTI) will be slightly different because every facility is unique and every situation different. Generally after all construction associated with a PTI has been completed, written approval from ODA is required prior to stocking animals or putting a manure storage structure into service. The written stocking approval is issued only after the facility demonstrates that the construction associated with the PTI was in accordance with the approved plans and specifications. The construction documentation can take many forms depending on the nature and scope of the project. If the design of a manure storage structure required the signature and stamp of a Professional Engineer registered in the State of Ohio, then an engineer must certify the construction using either an ECERT-FS Form for fabricated structures or an ECERT-PL Form for earthen ponds and lagoons.