Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 6, September 16, 2024
(a)
PURPOSE. The purpose of this Rule is to maintain or exceed the percentage
reduction goals defined in Rule .0730 of this Section for the collective
agricultural loading of nitrogen and phosphorus from the 1991 baseline levels,
to the extent that best available accounting practices will allow, on
agricultural operations as defined in Paragraph (b) of this Rule. This Rule
requires persons engaging in agricultural operations in the basin to implement
land management practices that will collectively, on a basin basis, achieve and
maintain strategy nutrient reduction goals of a 30 percent reduction in
nitrogen loading from 1991 levels and no increase in phosphorus loading from
1991 levels. Local committees and a Basin Oversight Committee shall coordinate
activities and account for progress.
(1)
PROCESS. This Rule requires agricultural producers in the basin to implement
land management practices that collectively, on a basin-wide basis, will
achieve the nutrient goals.
(2)
LIMITATION. This Rule may not fully address the agricultural nitrogen reduction
goal of the Tar-Pamlico Nutrient Sensitive Waters Strategy in that it does not
address atmospheric sources of nitrogen to the Basin, including atmospheric
emissions of ammonia from sources located both within and outside of the Basin,
and the Commission may undertake separate rule making to address atmospheric
sources at a later date.
(b) APPLICABILITY. This Rule shall apply to
all agricultural producers engaging in agricultural operations in the
geographic area subject to the Tar-Pamlico nutrient strategy as described in
Rule .0730 of this Section. This Rule applies to livestock and poultry
operations set forth in Subparagraph (b)(3) of this Rule in addition to
requirements for animal operations set forth in general permits issued pursuant
to G.S.
143-215.10C. Nothing in this Rule shall be
deemed to allow the violation of any assigned surface water, groundwater, or
air quality standard by any agricultural operation, including any livestock or
poultry operation below the size thresholds in this Paragraph. For the purposes
of this Rule, "agricultural operations," are activities, and "agricultural
producers" are persons engaging in those activities, that relate to any of the
following pursuits:
(1) The commercial
production of crops or horticultural products other than trees. As used in this
Rule, "commercial" shall mean activities conducted primarily for financial
profit.
(2) Research activities in
support of commercial production.
(3) The production or management of any of
the following number of livestock or poultry at any time, excluding nursing
young:
(A) 20 or more horses;
(B) 20 or more cattle;
(C) 150 or more swine;
(D) 120 or more sheep;
(E) 130 or more goats;
(F) 650 or more turkeys;
(G) 3,500 or more chickens; or
(H) Any single species of any other livestock
or poultry, or any combination of species of livestock or poultry that exceeds
20,000 pounds of live weight at any time.
(4) Certain tree-harvesting activities
described and defined as follows.
(A) The
one-time harvest of trees on land within a riparian buffer described in Rule
.0259 that was open farmland on September 1, 2001. This one-time harvest of
trees may be conducted within one tree cropping interval only under a
verifiable farm plan that received final approval from a local agricultural
agency on or after September 1, 2001 and that expressly allowed the harvest of
trees no earlier than 10 years after the trees are established and the return
of the land to another agricultural pursuit.
(B) The one-time harvest of trees on land
within a riparian buffer described in
15A NCAC
02B .0259 that had trees established under an
agricultural incentive program as of September 1, 2001.
(C) All tree harvesting described in Parts
(A) and (B) of this Subparagraph shall comply with
02 NCAC
60C. The nutrient removal functions that were
provided by trees prior to their harvest shall be replaced by other measures
that are implemented by the owner of the land from which the trees are
harvested.
(D) The following
definitions shall apply to terms used in Parts (A) and (B) of this
Subparagraph:
(i) "Agricultural incentive
program" means any of the following programs and any predecessor program to any
of the following programs:
(I) Agriculture
Cost Share Program for Nonpoint Source Pollution Control established by
G.S.
106-850.
(II) Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program
established by 7 C.F.R. Part 1410 (January 1, 2001 Edition) and
15A NCAC
06G .0101 through
15A NCAC
06G .0106.
(III) Conservation Reserve Program
established by 7 C.F.R. Part 1410 (January 1, 2001 Edition).
(IV) Environmental Quality Incentives Program
established by 7 C.F.R. Part 1466 (January 1, 2001 Edition).
(V) Wetlands Reserve Program established by 7
C.F.R. Part 1467 (January 1, 2001 Edition).
(VI) Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program
established by 7 C.F.R. Part 636 (January 1, 2001 Edition).
(VII) The CFRs in this Subparagraph are
incorporated by reference, including subsequent amendments and editions, and
may be accessed free of charge at
www.gpo.gov.
(ii) "Local agricultural agency" means the
North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, the Farm Services Agency of the
United States Department of Agriculture, the Natural Resources Conservation
Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, a Soil and Water
Conservation District created pursuant to
G.S.
139-5, or their successor agencies.
(iii) "Open farmland" means the footprint of
land used for pasture or for crops or horticultural products other than trees.
Open farmland may contain scattered trees if an open canopy existed on
September 1, 2001 as determined from the most recent aerial photographs taken
prior to September 1, 2001 for the Farm Services Agency of the United States
Department of Agriculture.
(iv)
"Tree" means a woody plant with a diameter equal to or greater than five inches
when measured at a height of four and one-half feet above the ground.
(v) "Tree cropping interval" means the time
required to establish and grow trees that are suitable for harvesting. The
tree-cropping interval shall be set out in the farm plan and shall be no less
than 10 years after the trees are established.
(c) IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS. A
Basin Oversight Committee, as set forth in Paragraph (d) of this Rule, and
county-level Local Advisory Committees, as set forth in Paragraph (e) of this
Rule, shall coordinate activities and account for progress. Accounting for
nutrient-reducing actions on agricultural operations within the basin shall
follow requirements set forth in Subparagraph (d)(3) of this Rule. Agricultural
producers may be eligible to obtain cost share and technical assistance from
the NC Agriculture Cost Share Program and similar federal programs to
contribute to their counties' ongoing nutrient reductions. Committee activity
shall be guided by the following:
(1) OPTIONS
FOR INDIVIDUAL OPERATIONS. Agricultural producers subject to this Rule may
elect to implement practices meeting the standards identified in Paragraph (f)
of this Rule that contribute to maintenance of collective local compliance with
the goal identified in Paragraph (a) of this Rule, but are not required to
implement any specific practices provided their basin collectively maintains
compliance with the goal.
(2)
MAINTENANCE OF GOAL. Accounting shall annually demonstrate maintenance or
exceedence of the nitrogen reduction goal for the basin. Where three sequential
annual reports show that the basin did not meet its nitrogen and phosphorus
reduction goals, the Basin Oversight Committee shall work with the Division of
Soil and Water Conservation and Local Advisory Committees, particularly those
representing counties not meeting the goals, to seek reduction actions by
operations to bring agriculture collectively back into compliance, and shall
report on their efforts in subsequent annual reports. Should subsequent annual
reports not reverse the trend of non-compliance, the Commission may conduct
additional rulemaking to require a more specific implementation plan from the
Basin Oversight Committee, which may include an assessment of need for specific
action by the Commission.
(d) BASIN OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE. The Basin
Oversight Committee shall have the following membership, role, and
responsibilities:
(1) MEMBERSHIP. The Director
of the Division of Water Resources shall be responsible for maintaining the
following membership composition. Until such time as the Commission determines
that long-term compliance with this Rule is assured, the Director shall solicit
one nomination for membership on this Committee from each agency or interest in
Parts (A) through (J) of this Subparagraph. The Director shall confirm nominees
in writing or request alternative nominations. The Director may appoint a
replacement at any time for an interest in Parts (F) through (J) of this
Subparagraph upon request of representatives of that interest or by the request
of the Commissioner of Agriculture for Part (G):
(A) Division of Soil and Water
Conservation;
(B) United States
Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service (shall serve
in an "ex-officio" non-voting capacity and shall function as a technical
program advisor to the Committee);
(C) North Carolina Department of Agriculture
and Consumer Services;
(D) North
Carolina Cooperative Extension Service;
(E) Division of Water Resources;
(F) Up to two environmental
interests;
(G) Basinwide farming
interests;
(H) Pasture-based
livestock interests;
(I) General
farming interests; and
(J) The
scientific community with experience related to water quality problems in the
Tar-Pamlico River Basin.
(2) ROLE. The Basin Oversight Committee
shall:
(A) Continue to review, approve, and
summarize local nitrogen and phosphorus reduction annual reports to ensure
ongoing implementation of the accounting methods approved by the Commission
under the original version of this Rule in October 2002 for nitrogen and
November 2005 for phosphorus as conforming to the requirements of Subparagraph
(3) of this Paragraph. The Committee shall present these reports as initiated
in 2002, to the Director;
(B) Take
actions set forth in Subparagraph (c)(2) of this Rule to address maintenance of
the nitrogen and phosphorus reductions goals;
(C) Identify and implement future refinements
to the accounting methodology to reflect advances in scientific understanding,
including establishment of nutrient reduction efficiencies for BMPS;
(D) Reassemble as needed a phosphorus
technical advisory committee to update the qualitative phosphorus method
approved by the Commission in October 2005, titled Accounting Method for
Tracking Relative Changes in Agricultural Phosphorus Loading to the Tar-Pamlico
River, in order to revise phosphorus baseline values and annual changes in
factors affecting agricultural phosphorus loss.
(3) ACCOUNTING METHODOLOGY. The requirements
of Paragraph (a) of this Rule shall be gauged by estimating percentage changes
in nitrogen loss from agricultural operations in the Tar-Pamlico Basin and by
evaluating broader trends in indicators of phosphorus loss from agricultural
lands in the Tar-Pamlico Basin. The Basin Oversight Committee shall develop,
maintain, and update as set forth in this Paragraph, accounting methods that
meet the following requirements:
(A) The
nitrogen method shall estimate baseline and annual total nitrogen losses from
agricultural operations in each county and for the entire Tar-Pamlico
Basin;
(B) The nitrogen and
phosphorus methods shall include a means of tracking implementation of BMPs,
including number, type, and area affected;
(C) The nitrogen method shall include a means
of estimating incremental nitrogen loss reductions from implementation of BMPs
that conform to requirements of Paragraph (f) of this Rule and of evaluating
progress toward and maintenance of the nutrient goals from changes in BMP
implementation, fertilization, and changes in individual crop acres;
(D) The nitrogen and phosphorus methods shall
be refined as research and technical advances allow; and
(E) The phosphorus method shall quantify
baseline values for and annual changes in factors affecting agricultural
phosphorus loss as identified in the report by the phosphorus technical
advisory committee described in Part (d)(2)(D).
(e) LOCAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES. The Local
Advisory Committees shall have the following membership, roles, and
responsibilities:
(1) MEMBERSHIP. Per S.L.
2001-355, a Local Advisory Committee shall be maintained as provided in this
Paragraph in each county or watershed as specified by the Basin Oversight
Committee, within the Tar-Pamlico River Basin. The Committee shall terminate
upon a finding by the Commission that the long-term maintenance of nutrient
loads in the Tar-Pamlico River Basin is assured. Each Local Advisory Committee
shall consist of:
(A) One representative of
the local Soil and Water Conservation District;
(B) One local representative of the United
States Department of Agriculture- Natural Resources Conservation
Service;
(C) One local
representative of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer
Services;
(D) One local
representative of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service;
(E) One local representative of the North
Carolina Division of Soil and Water Conservation; and
(F) At least two agricultural producers that
reside in the county.
(2) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS. Per S.L.
2001-355, the Director of the Division of Water Resources and the Director of
the Division of Soil and Water Conservation of the Department of Agriculture
and Consumer Services shall jointly appoint members described in Parts (1)(A),
(1)(B), (1)(D), and (1)(E) of this Subparagraph. As directed by S.L. 2001-355,
the Commissioner of Agriculture shall appoint the members described in Part
(1)(F) of this Subparagraph from persons nominated by nongovernmental
organizations whose members produce or manage significant agricultural
commodities in each county or watershed.
(3) ROLE. The Local Advisory Committees
shall:
(A) Continue to submit annual reports
to the Basin Oversight Committee estimating total crop production on
agricultural operations for the preceding calendar year, summarizing land use
changes in the county, and making recommendations to the Basin Oversight
Committee on the need for updates to the accounting methodology. Reports shall
include documentation on the BMPs implemented, including type and location,
that satisfy the requirements in Paragraph (f) of this Rule and documentation
of any expired contracts for BMPs; and
(B) Take actions called for under
Subparagraph (c)(2) of this Rule as needed to address maintenance of the
nitrogen and phosphorus reduction goals.
(f) PRACTICE STANDARDS. To receive nutrient
reduction credit, a BMP shall be included in the accounting method set forth in
Subparagraph (d)(3) of this Rule, or in a subsequent revision to that method
identified in annual reporting, and it shall be implemented according to
applicable nutrient-related standards identified by the Basin Oversight
Committee and established by the NC Soil and Water Conservation Commission or
the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service in North Carolina.
Authority
G.S.
143-214.1;
143-214.7;
143-215.3(a)(1);
Eff. September 1, 2001;
Temporary Amendment Eff. January 1, 2002
(exempt from 270 day requirement-S.L. 2001-355);
Recodified from
15A NCAC
02B .0256 Eff. April 1, 2020;
Readopted Eff. April 1, 2020.
