IMMAG - Iowa Manure Management Action Group

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(515) 294-9590 or e-mail amrieck@iastate.edu

March 2008 IMMAG Update

Welcome to the monthly electronic update for the Iowa Manure Management Action Group (IMMAG) web site. This update is provided as a service to inform you about changes made to the IMMAG Web Page or items of interest dealing with manure management and air quality from animal feeding operations. If you wish to receive this mailing or have your name removed from the mailing list please contact me at (515) 294-9590 or amrieck@iastate.edu. You may also view this update with direct links on the CURRENT NEWS site on IMMAG.

CURRENT NEWS: The Current News page on the IMMAG site is updated weekly. Please check this site often for the latest news regarding animal feeding operations and manure management issues.

On March 11, the Environmental Protection Commission voted to pass the proposed rule limiting application of liquid manure on soybean. The rule limits the application of liquid manure, process wastewater or settled open feedlot effluent to 100 pounds of available nitrogen per acre to ground that is planted to soybean or will be planted to soybean in the next crop year for the next 5 years. This applies to confinement feeding operations and open feedlots that are required to submit manure or nutrient management plans. If, after 5 years at this limit, the EPC finds no new science to change the rule, the rule would completely prohibit the practice. It is anticipated the earliest this rule would be come effective is May 2008. Stay tuned for additional information.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a rule that would exempt animal feeding operations from the requirement to report emissions from animal wastes. This exemption would not apply to other emissions from farm sources but only to animal wastes. "Specifically, the proposed administrative reporting exemption applies to releases of hazardous substances to the air where the source of those hazardous substances is animal waste at farms." A copy of the proposed rule and instructions on how to make comments regarding this rule can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/content/epcra/cercla_dec07.htm. Comments must be received by March 27, 2008. Comments must be identified as Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-SFUND-2007-0469.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a supplemental proposal to the June 2006 CAFO NPDES Rule. This supplemental proposal is looking at two major provisions. The first provision is a voluntary option for CAFOs to certify to the permitting authority that they do not discharge or propose to discharge and therefore do not need NPDES permit coverage.The proposal would establish criteria to meet the certification requirement including the need to develop a nutrient management plan to certify that they do not discharge or propose to discharge. This does exempt those CAFOs that do discharge from the duty to apply for a NDPES permit.
The second provision looks at 3 approaches for specifying terms of the Nutrient Management Plan (NMP). EPA has outlined the 3 approaches as the linear, matrix and narrative rate approach. Each approach offers different amounts of flexibility in determining rates of application.
Please see a copy of the rule for a table that highlights the different requirements in the 3 approaches to the nutrient management plan.

For General Information on this supplemental proposal and previous revisions to the CAFO Rules, please see: http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/afo/aforule.cfm

For a copy of the Federal Register notice on the supplemental proposal as identified above and instructions on how to submit comments, please see: http://www.epa.gov/npdes/regulations/cafo_supp_proposed_rule.pdf

For a copy of a fact sheet related to the supplemental proposal as identified above, please see: http://www.epa.gov/npdes/regulations/cafo_supp_fact_sheet.pdf

Comments must be received by April 7, 2008. Comments must be identified as Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2005-0037.

The following is a list of bills in the Iowa Legislature affecting livestock operations and manure management issues. This list is posted to the Current News and Legislation section of the IMMAG web page. Check this site often to keep up-to-date with the latest news and bills.

HF 2652 An Act providing for efforts to mitigate odor emitted from a livestock operation including by providing for basic and applied research and evaluations, and including applicability and effective date provisions.

SF 2234  An Act for providing research related to mitigation of odor emitted from livestock operations.

HF 2363 An Act providing for the stockpiling of dry manure from a confinement feeding operation and making penalties applicable.

SF 2213 A bill for an act providing for the stockpiling of dry manure from a confinement feeding operation and making penalties applicable.

HF 2496 An Act providing for the stockpiling of dry manure from a confinement feeding operation and making penalties applicable.

SF 2346 An Act providing for the stockpiling of dry manure from a confinement feeding operation and making penalties applicable.

SF 2381 An Act relating to animal feeding operations, by providing for open feedlot operations.

SF 2363 An Act regulating some livestock markets as animal feeding operations.

HF 2638 An Act providing for separation distance requirements between a confinement feeding operation structure and a designated wetland, and making penalties applicable.

SF 2369 An Act regulating persons who transport, handle, store, or apply manure.

HF 2445 An Act providing that a local government entity may adopt legislation regulating the use of phosphorus in proximity to a recreational lake.

HF 2192 An Act providing for separation distance requirements between a structure associated with a confinement feeding operation and a wetland designated as protected by the department of natural resources, and making penalties applicable.

EVENTS: For a complete list of events, please see the IMMAG events page at: http://www.agronext.iastate.edu/immag/events.html

March 19, 2008. IMMAG, Iowa State University Extension and the IA NRCS will host the next RUSLE2 and Iowa Phosphorus Index workshop at the Carroll County Extension Office in Carroll, IA. Registration for this workshop is now open and can be accessed at: http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/rusle2/home.html. This workshop is designed to train service providers who are assisting livestock producers in the development of state required manure management plans that will be implementing the Phosphorus Index. Producers are also welcome to attend. If you have questions about this workshop, please call Kapil Arora at 515-382-6551 or Angie Rieck-Hinz at 515-294-9590. At this time, a few spaces still remain open in this workshop.

March 25-27, 2008. Liners and Covers for Agricultural Waste Storage. This three-day short course is designed for engineers, consultants, regulators, educators and others who are involved in the selection, specification, design, installation or testing of liner and cover systems for manure or waste storage systems. The workshop will be held in Fresno, CA. For more information contact Robert Burns at rburns@iastate.edu

March 28, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. Central. LPE Educational Webcast Series "Pharmaceuticals in Animal Manure- Potential Impacts and their Management" (part 1). Please note date change!

May 19-21, 2008. Mitigating Air Emissions from Animal Feeding Operations. For additional information including agenda and registration information please see: http://www.abe.iastate.edu/wastemgmt/mitigation.html. This conference will be held at the Hotel Ft. Des Moines, Des Moines, Iowa.

Angie

Angela Rieck-Hinz
2104 Agronomy Hall
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011
(515) 294-9590
amrieck@iastate.edu
Iowa Manure Management Action Group
http://www.agronext.iastate.edu/immag/

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