Current through Register Vol. 41, No. 3, September 23, 2024
A. An animal
waste end-user who receives animal waste from an owner or operator of an animal
feeding operation covered by a VPA or VPDES permit shall comply with the
requirements outlined in this section.
B. Storage requirements. An animal waste
end-user who receives animal waste from an owner or operator of an animal
feeding operation covered by a VPA or VPDES permit shall comply with the
requirements outlined in this subsection regarding storage of animal waste in
his possession or under his control.
1.
Animal waste shall be stored in a manner that prevents contact with surface
water and groundwater. Animal waste that is stockpiled outside for more than 14
days shall be kept in a facility or at a site that provides adequate storage.
Adequate storage shall, at a minimum, include the following:
a. Animal waste shall be covered to protect
it from precipitation and wind;
b.
Storm water shall not run onto or under the stored animal waste;
c. A minimum of two feet separation distance
to the seasonal high water table or an impermeable barrier shall be used under
the stored waste. All waste storage facilities that use an impermeable barrier
shall maintain a minimum of one foot separation between the seasonal high water
table and the impermeable barrier. "Seasonal high water table" means that
portion of the soil profile where a color change has occurred in the soil as a
result of saturated soil conditions or where soil concretions have formed.
Typical colors are gray mottlings, solid gray, or black. The depth in the soil
at which these conditions first occur is termed the seasonal high water table.
Impermeable barriers shall be constructed of at least 12 inches of compacted
clay, at least four inches of reinforced concrete, or another material of
similar structural integrity that has a minimum permeability rating of 0.0014
inches per hour (1X10-6 centimeters per second);
and
d. For animal waste that is not
stored in a waste storage facility or under roof, the storage site must be at
least 100 feet from any surface water, intermittent drainage, wells, sinkholes,
rock outcrops, and springs.
2. Any liquid animal waste collection and
storage facility shall be designed and operated to (i) prevent point source
discharges of pollutants to state waters except in the case of a storm event
greater than the 25-year, 24-hour storm and (ii) provide adequate waste storage
capacity to accommodate periods when the ground is frozen or saturated, periods
when land application of nutrients should not occur due to limited or
nonexistent crop nutrient uptake, and periods when physical limitations
prohibit the land application of waste.
3. Waste storage facilities constructed after
December 1, 1998, shall not be located on a 100-year floodplain.
4. Earthen waste storage facilities
constructed after December 1, 1998, shall include a properly designed and
installed liner. Such liner shall be either a synthetic liner of at least 20
mils thickness or a compacted soil liner of at least one foot thickness with a
maximum permeability rating of 0.0014 inches per hour. A Virginia licensed
professional engineer or an employee of the Natural Resources Conservation
Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture with appropriate engineering
approval authority shall certify that the siting, design, and construction of
the waste storage facility comply with the requirements of this subsection.
This certification shall be maintained on site.
5. At earthen waste storage facilities
constructed below the seasonal high water table, the top surface of the waste
must be maintained at a level of at least two feet above the water
table.
6. All liquid waste storage
or treatment facilities shall maintain at least one foot of freeboard at all
times, up to and including a 25-year, 24-hour storm.
C. Land application requirements. An animal
waste end-user who (i) receives more than 10 tons of solid or semi-solid animal
waste (solid or semi-solid animal waste contains less than 85% moisture) or
more than 6,000 gallons of liquid animal waste (liquid animal waste contains
85% or more moisture) from an owner or operator of an animal feeding operation
covered by a VPA or VPDES permit and (ii) land applies animal waste shall
follow appropriate land application requirements as outlined in this
subsection. The application of animal waste shall be managed to minimize
adverse water quality impacts.
1. The maximum
application rates can be established by the following methods:
a. Phosphorus crop removal application rates
can be used when:
(1) Soil test phosphorus
levels do not exceed the values listed in the table below:
| Region |
Soil Test P (ppm) VPI & SU Soil Test (Mehlich I) *
|
| Eastern Shore and Lower Coastal Plain |
135 |
| Middle and Upper Coastal Plain and Piedmont |
136 |
| Ridge and Valley |
162 |
| * If results are from another laboratory the
Department of Conservation and Recreation approved conversion factors must be
used. |
(2)
The phosphorus crop removal application rates are set forth by regulations
promulgated by the Department of Conservation and Recreation in accordance with
§ 10.1-104.2 of the Code of Virginia.
b. Animal waste may be applied to any crop
once every three years at a rate of no greater than 80 pounds of plant
available phosphorus per acre when:
(1) The
plant available phosphorus supplied by the animal waste is based on a waste
nutrient analysis obtained in the last two years;
(2) In the absence of current soil sample
analyses and recommendations; and
(3) Nutrients have not been supplied by an
organic source, other than pastured animals, to the proposed land application
sites within the previous three years of the proposed land application date of
animal waste.
c. Soil
test recommendations can be used when:
(1)
Accompanied by analysis results for soil tests that have been obtained from the
proposed field or fields in the last three years;
(2) The analytical results are from
procedures in accordance with
4VAC50-85-140 A 2 f ; and
(3) Nutrients from the waste application do
not exceed the nitrogen or phosphorus recommendations for the proposed crop or
double crops. The recommendations shall be in accordance with
4VAC50-85-140 A 2 a .
d. A nutrient management plan
developed by a certified nutrient management planner in accordance with §
10.1-104.2 of the Code of Virginia.
2. The timing of land application of animal
waste shall be appropriate for the crop, and in accordance with
4VAC50-85-140 A 4 , except that no
waste may be applied to ice covered or snow covered ground or to soils that are
saturated.
3. Animal waste shall
not be land applied within buffer zones. Buffer zones at waste application
sites shall, at a minimum, be maintained as follows:
a. Distance from occupied dwellings: 200 feet
(unless the occupant of the dwelling signs a waiver of the buffer
zone);
b. Distance from water
supply wells or springs: 100 feet;
c. Distance from surface water courses: 100
feet (without a permanent vegetated buffer) or 35 feet (if a permanent
vegetated buffer exists). Other site-specific conservation practices may be
approved by the department that will provide pollutant reductions equivalent or
better than the reductions that would be achieved by the 100-foot
buffer;
d. Distance from rock
outcropping (except limestone): 25 feet;
e. Distance from limestone outcroppings: 50
feet; and
f. Waste shall not be
applied in such a manner that it would discharge to sinkholes that may exist in
the area.
D.
Animal waste end-users shall maintain the records demonstrating compliance with
the requirements of subsections B and C of this section for at least three
years and make them available to department personnel upon request.
E. The activities of the animal waste
end-user shall not contravene the Water Quality Standards, as amended and
adopted by the board, or any provision of the State Water Control Law (§
62.1-44 et seq. of the Code of Virginia).
F. Any duly authorized agent of the board
may, at reasonable times and under reasonable circumstances, enter any
establishment or upon any property, public or private, for the purpose of
obtaining information or conducting surveys or investigations necessary in the
enforcement of the provisions of this regulation.
Statutory Authority: § 62.1-44.15 of the Code of
Virginia.
