Virginia Administrative Code
Title 9 - ENVIRONMENT
Agency 25 - STATE WATER CONTROL BOARD
Chapter 31 - VIRGINIA POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (VPDES) PERMIT REGULATION
Part II - Permit Applications and Special VPDES Permit Programs
Section 9VAC25-31-130 - Concentrated animal feeding operations
Universal Citation: 9 VA Admin Code 25-31-130
Current through Register Vol. 41, No. 3, September 23, 2024
A. Permit requirement for CAFOs.
1. Concentrated animal
feeding operations as defined in
9VAC25-31-10 or
designated in accordance with subsection B of this section are point sources
that require VPDES permits for discharges. Once an operation is defined as a
CAFO, the VPDES requirements for CAFOs apply with respect to all animals in
confinement at the operation and all manure, litter and process wastewater
generated by those animals or the production of those animals, regardless of
the type of animal.
2. Two or more
animal feeding operations under common ownership are considered, for the
purposes of this chapter, to be a single animal feeding operation if they
adjoin each other or if they use a common area or system for the disposal of
wastes.
B. Case-by-case designations. The department may designate any animal feeding operation as a concentrated animal feeding operation upon determining that it is a significant contributor of pollution to surface waters.
1.
In making this designation the department shall consider the following factors:
a. The size of the animal feeding operation
and the amount of wastes reaching surface waters;
b. The location of the animal feeding
operation relative to surface waters;
c. The means of conveyance of animal wastes
and process wastewaters into surface waters;
d. The slope, vegetation, rainfall, and other
factors affecting the likelihood or frequency of discharge of animal wastes and
process wastewaters into surface waters; and
e. Other relevant factors.
2. No animal feeding operation
with less than the numbers of animals set forth in the definition of Medium
CAFO in this regulation shall be designated as a concentrated animal feeding
operation unless:
a. Pollutants are
discharged into surface waters through a manmade ditch, flushing system, or
other similar manmade device; or
b.
Pollutants are discharged directly into surface waters which originate outside
of the facility and pass over, across, or through the facility or otherwise
come into direct contact with the animals confined in the operation.
3. A permit application shall not
be required from a concentrated animal feeding operation designated under this
subsection until the department has conducted an on-site inspection of the
operation and determined that the operation should and could be regulated under
the VPDES permit program.
C. VPDES permit authorization.
1. Permit requirement. The owners or
operators of a CAFO shall not discharge unless the discharge is authorized by a
VPDES permit. In order to obtain authorization under a VPDES permit, the CAFO
owner or operator shall either apply for an individual VPDES permit or apply
for coverage under a VPDES general permit. The owners or operators of a CAFO
must have obtained authorization under the VPDES permit at the time that the
CAFO discharges.
2. Information to
submit with permit application. A permit application for an individual permit
must include the information specified in
9VAC25-31-100
J. A notice of intent for a general permit must include the information
specified in
9VAC25-31-100
J and
9VAC25-31-170.
3. Land application discharges from a CAFO
are subject to VPDES requirements. The discharge of manure, litter or process
wastewater to surface waters from a CAFO as the result of the application of
that manure, litter or process wastewater by the CAFO to land areas under its
control is a discharge from that CAFO subject to VPDES requirements, except
where it is an agricultural stormwater discharge as provided in
33
USC §
1362(14). For
purposes of this subdivision, where the manure, litter or process wastewater
has been applied in accordance with a nutrient management plan approved by the
Department of Conservation and Recreation and in accordance with site specific
nutrient management practices that ensure appropriate agricultural utilization
of the nutrients in the manure, litter, or process wastewater, as specified in
subdivisions E 1 f through i of
9VAC25-31-200,
a precipitation-related discharge of manure, litter or process wastewater from
land areas under the control of a CAFO is an agricultural stormwater discharge.
a. For unpermitted Large CAFOs, a
precipitation-related discharge of manure, litter, or process wastewater from
land areas under the control of a CAFO shall be considered an agricultural
stormwater discharge only where the manure, litter, or process wastewater has
been land applied in accordance with site-specific nutrient management
practices that ensure appropriate agricultural utilization of the nutrients in
the manure, litter, or process wastewater, as specified in subdivisions E 1 f
through i of
9VAC25-31-200.
b. Unpermitted Large CAFOs shall maintain
documentation specified in subdivision E 1 i of
9VAC25-31-200
either on site or at a nearby office, or otherwise make such documentation
readily available to department staff upon request.
4. Procedures for CAFOs seeking coverage
under a general permit. CAFO owners or operators shall submit a registration
statement when seeking authorization to discharge under a general permit in
accordance with subsection B of
9VAC25-31-170.
The department will review registration statements submitted by CAFO owners or
operators to ensure that the registration statement includes the information
required by subsection J of
9VAC25-31-100,
including a nutrient management plan that meets the requirements of subsection
E of
9VAC25-31-200
and applicable effluent limitations and standards, including those specified in
40 CFR Part 412 . When additional information is necessary to complete the
registration statement or clarify, modify, or supplement previously submitted
material, the department may request such information from the owner or
operator. If the department makes a preliminary determination that the
registration statement meets the requirements of subsection J of
9VAC25-31-100
and subsection E of
9VAC25-31-200,
the department will notify the public of the department's proposal to grant
coverage under the permit to the CAFO and make available for public review and
comment the registration statement submitted by the CAFO, including the CAFO's
nutrient management plan, and the draft terms of the nutrient management plan
to be incorporated into the permit. The process for submitting public comments
and public hearing requests, and the public hearing process if a request for a
public hearing is granted, shall follow the procedures applicable to draft
permits set forth in
9VAC25-31-300,
9VAC25-31-310,
and
40
CFR 124.13. The board may establish, either
by regulation or in the general permit, an appropriate period of time for the
public to comment and request a public hearing that differs from the time
period specified in
9VAC25-31-290.
The department's response to significant comments received during the comment
period is governed by
9VAC25-31-320,
and, if necessary, the department will require the CAFO owner or operator to
revise the nutrient management plan in order to be granted permit coverage.
When the department authorizes coverage for the CAFO owner or operator under
the general permit, the terms of the nutrient management plan shall become
incorporated as terms and conditions of the permit for the CAFO. The department
will notify the CAFO owner or operator and inform the public that coverage has
been authorized and of the terms of the nutrient management plan incorporated
as terms and conditions of the permit applicable to the CAFO.
5. Changes to a nutrient management plan. Any
permit issued to a CAFO shall require the following procedures to apply when a
CAFO owner or operator makes changes to the CAFO's nutrient management plan
previously submitted to the department:
a.
The CAFO owner or operator shall provide the department with the most current
version of the CAFO's nutrient management plan and identify changes from the
previous version, except that the results of calculations made in accordance
with the requirements of subdivisions E 5 a (2) and E 5 b (4) of
9VAC25-31-200
are not subject to the requirements of this subdivision 5.
b. The department will review the revised
nutrient management plan to ensure that it meets the requirements of this
section and applicable effluent limitations and standards, including those
specified in 40 CFR Part 412 , and will determine whether the changes to the
nutrient management plan necessitate revision to the terms of the nutrient
management plan incorporated into the permit issued to the CAFO. If revision to
the terms of the nutrient management plan is not necessary, the department will
notify the CAFO owner or operator and upon such notification the CAFO may
implement the revised nutrient management plan. If revision to the terms of the
nutrient management plan is necessary, the department will determine whether
such changes are substantial changes as described in subdivision 5 c of this
subsection.
(1) If the department determines
that the changes to the terms of the nutrient management plan are not
substantial, the department will make the revised nutrient management plan
publicly available and include it in the permit record, revise the terms of the
nutrient management plan incorporated into the permit, and notify the owner or
operator and inform the public of any changes to the terms of the nutrient
management plan that are incorporated into the permit.
(2) If the department determines that the
changes to the terms of the nutrient management plan are substantial, the
department will notify the public and make the proposed changes and the
information submitted by the CAFO owner or operator available for public review
and comment. The process for public comments, public hearing requests, and the
public hearing process if a public hearing is held shall follow the procedures
applicable to draft permits set forth in
9VAC25-31-300,
9VAC25-31-310,
and
40
CFR 124.13. The board may establish by
regulation or the department may establish in the CAFO's permit, an appropriate
period of time for the public to comment and request a public hearing on the
proposed changes that differs from the time period specified in
9VAC25-31-290.
The department will respond to all significant comments received during the
comment period as provided in
9VAC25-31-320,
and require the CAFO owner or operator to further revise the nutrient
management plan if necessary, in order to approve the revision to the terms of
the nutrient management plan incorporated into the CAFO's permit. Once the
department incorporates the revised terms of the nutrient management plan into
the permit, the department will notify the owner or operator and inform the
public of the final decision concerning revisions to the terms and conditions
of the permit.
c.
Substantial changes to the terms of a nutrient management plan incorporated as
terms and conditions of a permit include:
(1)
Addition of new land application areas not previously included in the CAFO's
nutrient management plan. Except that if the land application area that is
being added to the nutrient management plan is covered by terms of a nutrient
management plan incorporated into an existing VPDES permit in accordance with
the requirements of subdivision E 5 of
9VAC25-31-200,
and the CAFO owner or operator applies manure, litter, or process wastewater on
the newly added land application area in accordance with the existing
field-specific permit terms applicable to the newly added land application
area, such addition of new land would be a change to the new CAFO owner or
operator's nutrient management plan but not a substantial change for purposes
of this section;
(2) Any changes to
the field-specific maximum annual rates for land application, as set forth in
subdivision E 5 a of
9VAC25-31-200,
and to the maximum amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus derived from all sources
for each crop, as set forth in subdivision E 5 b of
9VAC25-31-200;
(3) Addition of any crop or other uses not
included in the terms of the CAFO's nutrient management plan and corresponding
field-specific rates of application expressed in accordance with subdivision E
5 of
9VAC25-31-200;
and
(4) Changes to site-specific
components of the CAFO's nutrient management plan, where such changes are
likely to increase the risk of nitrogen and phosphorus transport to state
waters.
6.
Causes for modification of nutrient management plans. The incorporation of the
terms of a CAFO's nutrient management plan into the terms and conditions of a
general permit when a CAFO obtains coverage under a general permit in
accordance with subdivision C 4 of 9VAC25-31-130 and
9VAC25-31-170 is
not a cause for modification pursuant to the requirements of
9VAC25-31-370.
Statutory Authority: § 62.1-44.15 of the Code of Virginia; § 402 of the federal Clean Water Act; 40 CFR Parts 122, 123, 124, 403, and 503.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Virginia may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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