Part II: Nutrient Management Proposals Challenge Farming
(Conllniwd from Pag* A 29)
They are expected soon.
According to a report in the Jan.
23 issue of the DEP UPDATE
newsletter, “The new policy will
require full environmental permits
for large oeprations along with
opportunities for public review
and oemment and a more simpli
fied set of rules for smaller
operations.
“Over the past few months,
there has been confusion over how
the environmental impacts of large
livestock feeding operations are
regulated in Pennsylvania," DEP
Secretary James Seif stated in the
newsletter. “We hope the policy
we announced... will clear up that
confusion and help us put in place
a longer range strategy for dealing
with these facilities over the next
few months."
What it means is that the state
Department of Environmental Pro
tection (DEP) has adopted an inter
im policy, undl a new policy is
adopted, that would allow
increased public awareness and
participation in the awarding of
environmental permits to those
seeking to build or expand concen
trated animal operations (CAOs)
for a s).
A CAO is a Pennsylvania term
for a large-density livestock pro
duction operation. The EPA refers
to them as Concentrate Animal
Feeding Operations (CAFOs) and
Animal Feeding Operations
OUTDOOR FURNACES
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or (717) 392-1333 or (717) 393-1929
(AFOs).
A CAO is a high-density lives
tock operations sited on farmland
with too little available cropland or
land in vegetative state to assimi
late the nutrients available in the
manure produced by the
operations.
Pennsylvania's law does not
discourage such facilities, it mere
ly requires the operators to think
through their operation, consider
all the environmental impacts, and
make some plan for implementing
practices that control the flow of
nutrients so as to prevent them
from becoming a source of exces
sive nutrients in water.
What the EPA has proposed in
its draft strategy (available for
complete review on the EPA inter
net homepage at
http://www.epa.gov/owm) is to
consider animal feeding opera
tions as "point sources" or pollu
tion, requiring NPDES permits.
DEP’s Young said that while the
revised permits for agriculture will
not actually indicate that there is
any discharge coming from the
animal feeding operations, the per
mit is still being required.
She also said that Pennsylvania
is negotiating with EPA to allow as
much of the state’s program to
remain intact For example, while
the EPA has designated manage
ment requirements for farms that
pose a threat of releasing polluting
loads of nutrients into waterways,
DEP has proposed that Pennsylva
ll
1
IS
nia considers only those farms that
are defined by the state as CAOs to
fall within that realm, thereby
attempting to prevent a situation in
which every farm would receive
state and federal permitting
oversight
Under the interim policy, new
concentrated animal feeding oper
ations with 1,000 animal equiva
lent unites of more will have to:
• Have a nutrient managment
plan required by the state Nutrient
Management Act.
• Have a Chapter 102 erosion
and sedimentation control plan.
• If the project involves and
earth disturbance of five acres or
mote, an NPDES permit for storm
water discharge (during the con
struction phase).
• If a manure handling facility
has a storage lagoon or other struc
ture is built, a Part II water quality
permit will be required and the
facility will have to meet siting,
design, monitoring and operation
al standards. A full NPDES water
quality permit will also be required
covering similar environmental
concerns.
•The public will have the oppor
tunity to be involved in reviewing
both the Part II and the full NPDES
water quality permit as well as
opportunities for public hearings.
Public notice of proposed facilities
will go to local officials and be
published in local newspapers and
the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
While there is much more to the
full stoty behind all of the changes,
those interested in reading the
details can learn more by visiting
the EPA website or the Pennsyvla
nia DEP Internet site at
www.dep.state.pa.us.
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FEDERAL RESERVE NOTE
Workers Compensation, Disabili
Those wishing to comment on mental Protection Agency, 401 M
the EPA draft strategy on Animal Street, S.W., Mail Code 4203,
Feeding Opcrdons have until May Washington DC 20460.
1, 1998 to submit comments to: Or they can be sent via clcctron-
Ruby Cooper-Ford, Nadonal AFO ic mail at
Program Manager, U.S. Environ- Ford.Ruby@epamail.epa.gov).
Lancaster County
Conservancy
Receives Funds
CONOY TOWNSHIP (Lancas
ter Co.) —On behalf of Gov. Tom
Ridge, state Department of Con
servation and Natural Resources
(DCNR) Deputy Secretary Karen
Deklinsid recently presented Lan
caster County Conservancy mem
bers with a $136,000 ceremonial
check from the Land Trust Grant
Program to acquire land in Conoy,
Martic and Providence townships,
Lancaster County.
These grants are an important
part of the Ridge Administration’s
work to preserve and conserve
Pennsylvania’s precious natural
resources.” Deklinski said.
Through these land-trust grants,
we are helping the Lancaster
County Conservancy to continue
its commitment to protecting
Pennsylvania’s valuable natural
areas and open spaces.”
The Lancaster County Conser
vancy received a $lOO,OOO grant
to acquire 83 acres in Martic and
Providence townships to expand
the Hauer-Trout Run Nature Pre
serve. They also received a
$36,000 grant for the acquisition
of 40 woodland acres surrounding
a boulder cave in Conoy Town
ship.
/Ask for
Nevin or Bob.
ice
These grants were part of $3.7
million in funding for 27 state
wide grants through the Keystone
Land Trust Grant Program, ad
ministered by DCNR. The pro
gram is part of the Ridge Adminis
tration’s Community Conserva
tion Partnership initiative, a
four-year, $75 million grant and
technical assistance initiative that
provides funding to help com
munities and non-profit organiza
tion conserve natural and cultural
resources, provide outdoor recrea
tion, enhance tourism, and foster
community and economic devel
opment
Funded through the Keystone
Recreation, Park and Conserva
tion Fund Act, the grant program
provides up to SO percent of the
cost of the project These 27
grants will acquire more than
9,200 acres of critical habitat and
significant open-space areas.
Since the program began in 1995,
more than $12.1 million in Key
stone funding has been approved
to assist with the acquisition of
nearly 17,700 acres. An additional
$600,000 has been approved for
open space and natural areas plan
ning projects.
& Health
II
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