What is the CLEANEAST Program?

The CLEANEAST Program conducts voluntary and confidential environmental assessments of livestock operations in the Eastern United States to help identify and adopt practices that protect the environment. As part of the program, Technical Assistance Professionals (TAPs) will offer suggestions designed to alleviate any potential environmental deficiencies found at a farm.

Who can I contact for more information on this program?

We are available to answer any of your questions regarding this program. You can email your questions to livestock@rti.org or call 1-866-881-1191.

Will farm operators applying for this program need to have a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit?

No, this program is available for any livestock operation east of the Mississippi. It is not necessary for the operation to have an NPDES permit in hand, or to be in the process of applying for an NPDES permit. All information collected from participating farms will remain confidential and will not be used with regards to NPDES requirements.

When can I apply to participate?

We are currently accepting applications. If you would like to enroll in the program, visit the Farm Operator Application page.

Will all applicants receive assistance?

Current funding for the program limits the number of livestock operations that we will be able to provide assistance to at this time. If we have more applicants than we can address with the current funding, we will apply carefully developed decision-making criteria considering animal sector, geographic location, farm size, and watershed conditions in selecting operations and maintain records of all interested operations should additional funding be provided.

Who is eligible to participate?

The focus of this program is to serve commodity beef, dairy, swine and poultry farmers and ranchers in the 27 states east of the Mississippi River. However, we will consider requests for other animals, given our budget and timeframe.

When will assistance be available?

We anticipate being able to assist participants in the fall of 2008.

Why is this program operated by RTI International and NCSU?

The EPA’s Office of Water selected RTI International (RTI) and North Carolina State University as its cooperative agreement partners for its commitment to conducting credible science, offering a strong combination of objectivity, technical skills, and outreach and assessment capabilities, backed by decades of US EPA project management experience with fiscal responsibility.