Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) Policy
Statement. In accordance with §
519.1 of this title (relating to
Policy Statement) and the policy of the State Soil and Water Conservation Board
to develop and implement a program to provide technical assistance for the
development and implementation of soil and water conservation plans and soil
and water conservation measures, this section is adopted.
(b) Definitions. The following words and
terms, when used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1)
Animal feeding operation--A lot or facility (other than an aquatic animal
production facility) where animals have been, are, or will be stabled or
confined and fed or maintained for a total of 45 days or more in any 12-month
period, and the animal confinement areas do not sustain crops, vegetation,
forage growth, or postharvest residues in the normal growing season.
(2) Comprehensive nutrient management plan,
herein referred to as CNMP--A resource management plan containing a grouping of
conservation practices and management activities which, when combined into a
conservation system, will help ensure that both agricultural production goals
and natural resource concerns dealing with nutrient and organic by-products and
their adverse impacts on water quality are achieved. A CNMP incorporates
practices to utilize animal manure and organic by-products as a beneficial
resource. To be certified, a CNMP must cover all lands that constitute the
conservation management unit.
(3)
Conservation management unit--For the purposes of this section and regarding
comprehensive nutrient management planning, a conservation management unit
includes the production area and land application activities which are onsite
or are contiguous to the site.
(4)
Environmental stewardship programs for owners and/or operators of animal
feeding operations--Any program, administered by a governmental or
non-governmental entity, which provides the owner or operator of an animal
feeding operation with a mechanism for improving the overall efficiency of the
operation, operating in accordance with all applicable state or federal laws
pertaining to water quality, and furthers the effective conservation of the
state's soil and water resources.
(5) North Bosque River watershed--The
geographic area consisting of all the drainage area for the two designated
water quality segments as defined in the two adopted Total Maximum Daily Loads
for Phosphorus in the North Bosque River. The two designated water quality
segments are segment 1226, the North Bosque River, extending from a point 100
meters upstream of FM Road 185 in McLennan County to a point immediately
upstream of the confluence of Indian Creek in Erath County, and segment 1255,
the Upper North Bosque River, extending from a point immediately upstream of
the confluence of Indian Creek in Erath County to the confluence of the North
Fork and South Fork of the North Bosque River in Erath County.
(6) Natural Resources Conservation Service,
herein referred to as NRCS--An agency of the United States Department of
Agriculture which includes the agency formerly known as the Soil Conservation
Service (SCS).
(7) NRCS - Field
Office Technical Guide, herein referred to as NRCS - FOTG--The official NRCS
guidelines, criteria, and standards for planning and applying conservation
treatments.
(8) NRCS Technical
Service Provider Process--The process by which a technical service provider
obtains certification by NRCS to provide technical services including
conservation planning, and/or the design, layout, and installation of approved
conservation practices.
(9)
Resource management plan--A site specific blueprint for implementation of soil
and water conservation land improvement measures. It includes a record of the
eligible person's decisions made during planning and the resource information
needed for implementation and maintenance of the plan that has been reviewed
and approved by the SWCD.
(10)
Resource management system--A combination of conservation practices and
resource management activities for the treatment of all identified resource
concerns for soil, water, air, plants, animals, and humans that meets or
exceeds the quality criteria in the Natural Resource Conservation Service's
Field Office Technical Guide for resource sustainability.
(11) Soil and water conservation district,
herein referred to as SWCD--A government subdivision of this state and a public
body corporate and politic, organized pursuant to Chapter
201 of the
Agriculture Code.
(12) State
Board--The State Soil and Water Conservation Board created under the
Agriculture Code, Chapter 201.
(13)
Technical service provider--An individual, entity, or public agency certified
by the NRCS State Conservationist and placed on an approved list to provide
technical services.
(14) Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality--The state agency created under Title 2,
Subtitle A, Chapter 5 of the Texas Water Code (formerly the Texas Natural
Resource Conservation Commission).
(c) Applicability. Any owner or operator of
an animal feeding operation that meets the following criteria may submit a CNMP
to the State Board for certification in accordance with subsection (f) of this
section. Owners or operators of an animal feeding operation within the North
Bosque River watershed, or owners or operators of an animal feeding operation
that has enrolled in any agricultural environmental stewardship program whose
administrators have a current memorandum of agreement with the State Board
regarding a State Board certification of a CNMP as programmatic
requirement.
(d) Process for
Obtaining a CNMP. It is the intent of the State Board that all CNMPs be
developed by technical service providers certified by NRCS to develop CNMPs or
component parts of CNMPs. Owners and operators whose CNMP is developed by
persons not certified to develop CNMPs through NRCS' Technical Service Provider
process must submit their CNMP to the local NRCS Field Office for approval.
Owners and operators of animal feeding operations who meet the applicability
criteria set forth in subsection (c) of this section and intend to submit a
completely developed CNMP to the State Board for certification shall:
(1) Be a SWCD cooperator.
(2) Declare to the SWCD their intent to
submit a CNMP for State Board certification.
(3) Request to view a list of certified
technical service providers who have been certified by the NRCS to develop
CNMPs from their local SWCD and/or NRCS Field Office. Owners and operators
whose CNMP is developed by persons not certified to develop CNMPs through NRCS'
Technical Service Provider process must submit their CNMP to the local NRCS
Field Office for approval.
(4)
Inform the SWCD that they intend to apply for cost-share incentive funding, if
applicable. All cost-share incentive funding toward the development of a
resource management plan and toward the implementation of land treatment
measures contained within the resource management plan, shall be in accordance
with §
523.6 of this title (relating to
Cost-Share Incentive Funding for Soil and Water Conservation Land Improvement
Measures).
(e)
Cost-share Incentive Funding. In accordance with §
523.6 of this title, the State
Board may allocate funds to a SWCD for cost-share incentive funding to
landowners toward the implementation of land improvement measures consistent
with the purpose of controlling erosion, conserving water, and/or protecting
water quality. All cost-share incentive funding toward the development of a
resource management plan and toward the implementation of land treatment
measures contained within the resource management plan, shall be in accordance
with §
523.6 of this title.
(f) Certification.
(1) When the following conditions are met the
State Board may certify that a CNMP satisfies the State Board's technical
criteria and programmatic guidance for comprehensive nutrient management
planning with the State's requirements for water quality:
(A) The owner or operator of the animal
feeding operation concurs and understands that the conservation practices and
implementation schedules contained within the CNMP, when applied and maintained
to form a resource management system will meet the State's requirements for
water quality; the owner or operator of the animal feeding operation agrees to
notify the local SWCD in the event of deviation from the implementation
schedule; and the owner or operator of the animal feeding operation agrees that
any substitution or changes to the conservation practices or schedules must be
in accordance with the NRCS - FOTG, the State Board's Technical Criteria and
Programmatic Guidance for Comprehensive Nutrient Management Planning, and the
rules and regulations of the State.
(B) The CNMP is in accordance with the
Technical Criteria and Programmatic Guidance for Comprehensive Nutrient
Management Planning adopted by the State Board and contains an implementation
schedule pursuant to subsection (i) of this section.
(C) The owner or operator of the animal
feeding operation meets the requirements of subsection (c) of this
section.
(D) The SWCD has approved
the CNMP as including the entire conservation management unit.
(E) The CNMP was developed by a technical
service provider certified by the NRCS to develop CNMPs or the NRCS Field
Office has approved the CNMP as meeting the requirements of the NRCS - FOTG for
a Resource Management System.
(2) Withdrawal of Certification. The State
Board may withdraw certification of any CNMP which, in consultation with the
SWCD, has been demonstrated to be deficient in one or more of the conditions
established under paragraph (1) of this subsection or if the holder of the CNMP
fails to implement the CNMP in accordance with subsection (i) of this
section.
(g) Technical
Criteria and Programmatic Guidance for Comprehensive Nutrient Management
Planning. The technical criteria and specific practice standards considered as
components of comprehensive nutrient management planning are based on the
criteria in the NRCS - FOTG; however, modification of those practice standards
to ensure consistency with state water quality standards, state water quality
laws regarding animal feeding operations, and the state agricultural and
silvicultural nonpoint source management program will be made by the State
Board as necessary. The State Board will adopt and maintain Technical Criteria
and Programmatic Guidance for Comprehensive Nutrient Management Planning to
ensure consistency with state water quality standards, state water quality laws
regarding animal feeding operations, and the state agricultural and
silvicultural nonpoint source management program.
(h) Environmental Stewardship Programs for
Owners and/or Operators of Animal Feeding Operations. The State Board may enter
into agreements with entities administering programs who request that
participants of such programs receive certification in accordance with
subsection (f) of this section as a programmatic requirement if the State Board
determines that the program is consistent with the state agricultural and
silvicultural nonpoint source management program and all other State Board
policies.
(i) Implementation
Schedule. A CNMP must contain an implementation schedule.
(1) The implementation schedule will, as far
as is practicable, balance the state's need for protecting water quality with
the need of agricultural producers to have sufficient time to implement
practices in an economically feasible manner.
(2) Highest priority will be given to the
implementation of the most cost effective and most needed pollution abatement
practices.
(3) The State Board in
consultation with the local SWCDs will conduct an annual status review of plan
implementation.
(4) The State Board
in consultation with the local SWCDs may withdraw certification of a CNMP that
is not being implemented in accordance with its schedule. Prior to
certification being withdrawn, a landowner will be notified and be given a
reasonable period of time to implement the CNMP according to the schedule or a
modified schedule approved by the SWCD.
(5) The holder of a certified CNMP shall
notify the local SWCD in the event he or she deviates from the implementation
schedule.
(j)
Applicability of State Water Quality Standards. To the extent allowed by
available technology, CNMP development, approval and certification will be
based on state water quality standards as established by the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality.
