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 general permit, an individual VPA permit, or a
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 general permit, an individual VPA
permit, or a VPDES permit shall comply with the requirements outlined in this
subsection regarding storage of animal waste in the owner or operator's
possession or under the owner or operator's control.
1. Semi-solid and solid waste shall be stored
in a manner that prevents contact with surface water and groundwater.
Semi-solid and solid waste that is stockpiled outside for more than 14 days
shall be kept in a waste storage facility or at a site that provides adequate
storage. Adequate storage shall, at a minimum, include the following:
a. Semi-solid and solid waste shall be
covered to protect it from precipitation and wind;
b. Stormwater shall not run onto or under the
stored semi-solid and solid 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. 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 semi-solid and solid 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. For semi-solid and solid waste that is stored on an
impermeable barrier and where any stormwater runoff is collected in the waste
storage facility, the semi-solid and solid waste can be stored adjacent to the
waste storage facility regardless of the location of the waste storage facility
so long as surface water, intermittent drainage, wells, sinkholes, rock
outcrops, and springs are protected from runoff from the stored semi-solid and
solid waste.
Semi-solid and solid waste that is stored on an impermeable
barrier and where any stormwater runoff is collected in a waste storage
facility is considered adequate storage and is therefore not required to be
covered.
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. For the purposes of determining the 100-year floodplain, a Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), a FEMA
Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA), or a FEMA Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) shall
be used.
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
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 general permit, an individual VPA permit, 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 Phosphorus Environmental Thresholds table:
|
Phosphorus Environmental
Thresholds
|
|
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, then 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 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 vegetated buffer) or 35 feet (if a 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.
4. In cases where
the waste storage facility is threatened by emergencies such as fire or flood
or where these conditions are imminent, animal waste can be land applied
outside of the spreading schedule outlined in the animal waste fact sheet. If
this occurs, then the animal waste end-user shall document the land application
information in accordance with
9VAC25-192-80 A 3.
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 (9VAC25-260) or any
provision of the State Water Control Law.
F. Any duly authorized agent of the
department 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.
