Post by Ron/PA on Feb 5, 2012 10:31:13 GMT -5
The Daily Item, Sunbury, PA
February 5, 2012
State mandates manure must be managed
By Rick Dandes
The Daily Item
---- — HARRISBURG -- Anyone who spreads manure on fields or has a pasture, barnyard or feedlot must now have a manure management plan, even if he has no animals and imports manure only for his fields, a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection official said Friday.
This would even apply to an individual who has only one horse, DEP spokeswoman Amanda Whitman said.
"That horse, no doubt, grazes on a pasture and collected manure from the horse may be applied to nearby fields," Whitman said. "Also, the horse most likely utilizes a loafing area or an exercise lot that has minimal or no vegetation These areas are considered animal concentration areas, which need to be properly managed."
And it's not only working farms about which Whitman is talking.
Sites raising farm animals for recreation would fall under this obligation as they need to demonstrate proper management of these animals. This would include that the manure and any animal concentration areas associated with those animals are being managed consistent with state approved guidelines so that local or regional water resources are protected.
The DEP will be responsible for making sure there is compliance.
"Yes," Whitman reiterated, "we are the agency responsible for ensuring that all operations are complying with this long-standing water quality obligation. This has been a requirement since at least the mid-1980s."
As for staffing, DEP continues to evaluate its current workforce to determine how best to meet this responsibility.
Manure management plans developed under this obligation are not required to be submitted for review or approval, Whitman continued. "So," she said, "there is not a need to staff the department, to the extent needed to review all developed manure management plans."
Plans are required to be developed and used by the farmer in the management of the manure used or generated on site. These plans are to be made available to DEP staff or other delegated entities that may visit the site to assess compliance or in response to a complaint. Whitman said.
The latest revision of DEP manure management requirements address criteria that have always been a part of proper manure management.
"The importance of this revised manual," Whitman said, "is that it provides clarity and consistency to the criteria used to direct farmers in the use of their manure. Some of the specific criteria given added clarity in the revised manual includes:
n Manure application setbacks ranging between 35 to 100 feet, depending on whether additional management practices are implemented.
n Manure application rates addressing both nitrogen and phosphorus. These are determined based on new application rate charts, or using standardized calculation sheets.
n Winter manure application restrictions addressing maximum winter application rates, added setbacks, required crop residue or cover crop on the field, and restrictions on the allowable slope of a field where manure will be applied in the winter.
n Manure stacking restrictions addressing setbacks, field slope restrictions, and length of time the stacks are permitted to remain in a field before they must be spread.
n Pasture management, addressing the need for maintaining lush vegetation with at least 3 inches of growth throughout the growing season.
n Barnyard/feedlot criteria addressing the need to restrict animal access to streams within a barnyard, collection of manure in a barnyard, diversion of clean water from the barnyard, and ensuring that manure contaminated water from the barnyard is collected and spread or appropriately filtered through a vegetative strip prior to reaching a stream.
February 5, 2012
State mandates manure must be managed
By Rick Dandes
The Daily Item
---- — HARRISBURG -- Anyone who spreads manure on fields or has a pasture, barnyard or feedlot must now have a manure management plan, even if he has no animals and imports manure only for his fields, a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection official said Friday.
This would even apply to an individual who has only one horse, DEP spokeswoman Amanda Whitman said.
"That horse, no doubt, grazes on a pasture and collected manure from the horse may be applied to nearby fields," Whitman said. "Also, the horse most likely utilizes a loafing area or an exercise lot that has minimal or no vegetation These areas are considered animal concentration areas, which need to be properly managed."
And it's not only working farms about which Whitman is talking.
Sites raising farm animals for recreation would fall under this obligation as they need to demonstrate proper management of these animals. This would include that the manure and any animal concentration areas associated with those animals are being managed consistent with state approved guidelines so that local or regional water resources are protected.
The DEP will be responsible for making sure there is compliance.
"Yes," Whitman reiterated, "we are the agency responsible for ensuring that all operations are complying with this long-standing water quality obligation. This has been a requirement since at least the mid-1980s."
As for staffing, DEP continues to evaluate its current workforce to determine how best to meet this responsibility.
Manure management plans developed under this obligation are not required to be submitted for review or approval, Whitman continued. "So," she said, "there is not a need to staff the department, to the extent needed to review all developed manure management plans."
Plans are required to be developed and used by the farmer in the management of the manure used or generated on site. These plans are to be made available to DEP staff or other delegated entities that may visit the site to assess compliance or in response to a complaint. Whitman said.
The latest revision of DEP manure management requirements address criteria that have always been a part of proper manure management.
"The importance of this revised manual," Whitman said, "is that it provides clarity and consistency to the criteria used to direct farmers in the use of their manure. Some of the specific criteria given added clarity in the revised manual includes:
n Manure application setbacks ranging between 35 to 100 feet, depending on whether additional management practices are implemented.
n Manure application rates addressing both nitrogen and phosphorus. These are determined based on new application rate charts, or using standardized calculation sheets.
n Winter manure application restrictions addressing maximum winter application rates, added setbacks, required crop residue or cover crop on the field, and restrictions on the allowable slope of a field where manure will be applied in the winter.
n Manure stacking restrictions addressing setbacks, field slope restrictions, and length of time the stacks are permitted to remain in a field before they must be spread.
n Pasture management, addressing the need for maintaining lush vegetation with at least 3 inches of growth throughout the growing season.
n Barnyard/feedlot criteria addressing the need to restrict animal access to streams within a barnyard, collection of manure in a barnyard, diversion of clean water from the barnyard, and ensuring that manure contaminated water from the barnyard is collected and spread or appropriately filtered through a vegetative strip prior to reaching a stream.
