HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) The Department of
Environmental Protection
(DEP) has finalized environ
mental standards to protect
ground and surface water from
the impacts of large animal feed
ing operations, according to
DEP Secretary James M. Seif.
“To make sure runoff and
manure from large livestock
feeding facilities do not pollute
our ground and surface water,
DEP has finalized specific per
mit and environmental stan
dards to cover these operations,”
Seif said.
“Pennsylvania is the first
state to comprehensively
address the water-quality
impacts of the design, construc
tion and operation of large-scale
animal feeding facilities;
manure storage structures; and
the application of manure from
these operations to farm fields,”
he said.
The most stringent require
ments are reserved for concen
trated animal feeding opera
tions (CAFOs) of 1,000 or more
animal equivalent units that are
of most concern to the public.
Farmers with smaller opera
tions are covered by the same
environmental performance
standards, but have simplified,
DEP Finalizes CAFO Compliance Standards
less expensive paperwork.
“The experience
Pennsylvania gained over the
late 14 years working coopera
tively with the farm community
and citizens under the
Chesapeake Bay Program
helped make these new stan
dards not only protective, but
practical,” Seif said.
New concentrated animal
feeding operations with more
than 1,000 animal equivalent
units, or those in special protec
tion watersheds having between
300 and 1,000 animal equivalent
units, will be required to meet
these requirements:
• An individual federal
National Pollution Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES)
water-quality permit with spe
cial conditions including self
monitoring and reporting; a pol
lution-prevention contingency
plan to prevent or contain and
clean up any spills; best man
agement practices to control
runoff from the site; and proce
dures for closing manure storage
areas if needed. Public comment
and local notice is required.
• A Part II state water-quali
ty permit with special conditions
covering the design, construc
tion and operation of manure
storage facilities; prohibiting
facilities in wetlands or flood
plains; and requiring storage
facilities to be lined and have
groundwater monitors. Public
comment and local notice is
required.
• Nutrient Management
Plans, to ensure manure from
these operations is properly
managed and not over applied to
farm fields, must be approved by
county conservation districts
before DEP issues its permit for
these facilities.
• Erosion and Sedimentation
Control Plans for fields where
manure is spread by the permit
tee to control loss of topsoil and
nutrients.
• A NPDES Stormwater
Management permit to cover
actual construction of the facili
ty-
New, smaller animal feeding
operations from 300 to 1,000
animal equivalent units would
be covered by the same environ
mental performance standards,
but simplified permit applica
tion requirements.
Existing feeding operations of
1,000 animal units or more will
be required to obtain a general
NPDES permit over the next
year and have an engineer certi
fy that any existing manure
storage facilities meet engineer-
ing standards.
Existing operations of 300 to
1,000 units will be required to
obtain a general permit over the
next three years. The general
permit is proposed for public
comment before it is final and
available.
An animal equivalent unit is
equal to 1,000 pounds of animal
weight and includes hogs, chick
ens, cattle or other livestock.
These new standards also
will help Pennsylvania farmers
meet water-quality protection
requirements established by the
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency for concentrated animal
feeding operations, and avoid
the need to get separate state
and federal water quality per
mits.
“I want to personally thank
all the members of the special
work group we established to
help develop these standards,”
Seif said. “These volunteers—
farm organizations, environ
mentalists and government
agencies—worked hundreds of
hours on this project.”
“Nutrient-management poli
cy should be environmentally
sound and economically feasi
ble,” Agriculture Secretary
Samuel E. Hayes Jr. said. “DEP
has worked with agriculture
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 1, 1999-A39
stakeholders to achieve these
two goals.”
An independent Agriculture
Development Advisory Board
created by Senate Resolution 91
in December 1997 is developing
a Best Management Practices
Manual for large animal feeding
operations that will cover issues
related to controlling odors, sit
ing facilities, studying livestock
raising trends and resolving dis
putes that may occur in commu
nities where facilities like this
would locate.
These practices and a train
ing course for facility operators
are being developed in coopera
tion with the Pennsylvania
State University Cooperative
Extension Service.
The draft manual containing
these standards should be avail
able for review through the
State Conservation Commission
in late spring.
There are now four permit
applications pending before
DEP, for new large livestock
operations covered by these
requirements, in Dauphin,
Franklin, Perry and Tioga coun
ties. These applicants will have
to meet the new standards and
public participation require
ments before a permit can be
issued by DEP.
For more information on the
environmental standards for
animal feeding operations, visit
DEP through the Pennsylvania
homepage at www.state.pa.us,
visit DEP directly at
www.dep.state.pa.us (choose
SubjectsAVater Management/
CAFOs); or contact Milt Lauch,
chief of the Division of
Wastewater Management at
(717) 787-8184