SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP)--A program that requires feedlots to apply for water pollution control permits has been a success even though some owners have failed to get them, a state environmental official said.

Feedlots with more than 1,000 beef cattle must get a permit from the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources that shows they can contain manure and manure runoff.

Of the 184 feedlots that were required to apply by Sept. 30, 147 feedlots--or one fifth--did so, according to Jeanne Goodman of the DENR.

But she said overall the program has been working.

"When we look at that over 80 percent that are in the process and have made progress, we are very pleased with that number," said Goodman.

Critics, however, fear some feedlot owners have ignored the rules.

"That's the positive spin on it," said Brad Johnson of Goodman's assessment. "The flip side is you've got almost one out of five feedlots that should have been in compliance in September that haven't even responded, and that's disappointing and concerning."

The delay in getting permits speaks poorly for the industry, said Johnson, chairman of the Board of Water and Natural Resources.

Some say the process of getting a feedlot permit is too complicated.

Doug Peterson, who feeds cattle near Platte, said it took a long time to secure his permit.

"Everyone was after what they call the EQIP money, and of course that's another long, drawn-out process," Peterson said. EQIP is federal Environment, Quality Incentives Program.

"And once you get that, there are not enough construction outfits around" to build the required manure containment structures.

"A lot of people aren't going to meet the deadline," he said. "I'm glad we did it, I'm glad it's done. It's what you might call a necessary evil."

The deadline created a lot of work for the people who design and build manure containment systems, said Dan DeHaan, an engineer from Mandan, N.D., who has worked with South Dakota clients.

"It's been a rush now for two years," he said. "There is a limitation on the number of contractors in the state and a limitation on the number of engineers."

Another engineer from Yankton, Todd Van Maanen, said a shortage of personnel may have delayed the process but he thinks some feedlot owners were slow to get on board.

"Probably some people kind of hope that either the deadline would get extended or it would all go away," he said.

Bob Mack, who farms near Watertown, said some farmers don't think they need a permit.

"There are some of them who say, 'I ought to have the right to do it however I want.' They don't agree with the Clean Water Act," said Mack, a member of the advisory board for I-29ers for Quality of Life, a group that has opposed many large livestock operations.

But he said the permits are important for expansion.

"It is a headache, and it is a pain," he said. "But at the same time, we've got clean water up here, and we've got a viable ag economy, and we're at the point where we could be a tremendous driving force in the nation."