Energy and Environment MonitorProposed regulation 47CSR10 for CAFOs is currently awaiting approval in the West Virginia legislature. The passage is almost assured, since denial of the regulation would result in federal administration of the NPDES permitting of large chicken and turkey farming operations.
· This regulation is consistent with the current federal regulation.
· Those affected are commercial chicken and turkey farming operations in West Virginia. Possibly a very few swine farming operations could be affected.
· Generally the current and pending regulations could affect those operations with as few as 30,000 chickens or as few as 16,500 turkeys. There are small, medium and large CAFOs. The classification depends on number of animals and animal waste disposal methodology.
The following is a brief summary of the new requirements included in the pending regulation before you now. Page references from the pending regulation on file with the WV Secretary of State are provided for the following requirements. The pending regulation can be accessed by this link: http://www.sos.wv.gov/administrative-law/modified/Pages/default.aspx
Perhaps the single most attention-getting provision added in the regulation is Section 13.1.c., which allows the Director of the WVDEP or the Regional Administrator of the USEPA to designate any Animal Feeding Operation (AFO) as a CAFO upon determining that it is a significant contributor of pollutants to the waters of WV. The Regional Administrator must determine that the pollution is impacting a downstream or adjacent State. p. 42
NPDES permit applications for CAFOs will require a nutrient management plan (NMP) that includes detailed procedures to meet effluent limitations, including operational procedures, sampling and testing to verify nutrient concentrations (nitrogen & phosphorus) in land applied waste to fields, wastewater treatment processes, etc. pp. 43-47
The new regulation implies that the NMP must be developed or approved by a certified nutrient management planner. p. 44
The NMP must be maintained onsite and be made available to the WVDEP upon request. p. 44
The permittee must maintain various operational records for a period of five years and make to records available to the WVDEP upon request. p. 44
When transferring manure, litter or process waste water to other persons, Large CAFOs must provide the recipient with the most current nutrient analysis and maintain information regarding the transfer for five years. p. 44
Permittees must prepare annual reports to the WVDEP regarding the number and type of animals, amounts of waste generated, amounts of waste transferred to other persons, acres of land application (manure, etc.) covered by the NMP, summary of all manure or waste water discharges during the past year, actual crops and yields for each field (including chemical analysis of the waste) receiving land application. pp. 44-45
The WVDEP shall review the rates of land application of the waste in terms of nitrogen and phosphorus as identified in the NMP for each crop. The land application must be based on calculations to verify the crop will use the nutrients applied as intended. These calculations must be performed at least once each year and must take into account nutrient requirements of the crops, nutrients and nutrient analysis of the land application waste. pp. 45
Changes to a NMP must be submitted to the WVDEP. If the WVDEP finds the changes are not substantial, the permittee and the public will be advised of any changes to the terms of the NMP and the changes can be implemented. If the changes are substantial, public review and opportunity for comment, along with the opportunity for a public hearing is provided. Once the WVDEP makes a final determination, the owner or operator and the public will be informed regarding the decision. pp. 46-47.
This article was authored by William Chambers, Acacia Environmental Group LLC. For more information on the author see here.
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