Facilities where animals are kept and raised in confined situations; feed is brought to the animals. The General Accounting Office estimates that there are 450,000 such operations nationwide. When large enough, these facilities are designated as concentrated animal feeding operations and they become subject to regulatory requirements to prevent point source pollution. USDA and the Environmental Protection Agency issued a Unified National Strategy for Animal Feeding Operations on March 9, 1999. The goal is to minimize water pollution from confinement facilities and land application of manure through adoption of site-specific comprehensive nutrient management plans.