Letter From DENR Regarding Water Quality Study

Subject:

Study of North Carolina Swine Operations

As you may recall, the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) recently considered a rule that would have required individual farms to take water quality samples from streams adjacent to the farm. The rule had been proposed by the Waterkeepers Alliance through a Petition for Rulemaking submitted to the EMC in 2007. After careful consideration, the EMC decided not to adopt this rule.

In response to comments received from those opposed to the draft rule during the public hearing process, the EMC agreed that it would be more appropriate for the Division of Water Quality (DWQ) to do a study of streams adjacent to swine operations rather than requiring individual farmers to take water quality samples.

DWQ, in cooperation with the United States Geological Survey (USGS), will be taking water quality samples from streams adjacent to a number of swine operations in 2012. Swine operations will be grouped together based on site characteristics (such as farm size and available acreage). Sampling locations will then be chosen at random from each grouping.

The purpose of this letter is to make you aware that the stream(s) adjacent to your farm(s) may be one of those randomly chosen to be monitored in this study. Samples will be collected and analyzed by the USGS. The sample results will not be used for determination of compliance with your permit. If a stream adjacent to your farm(s) is selected, you will be contacted by DWQ staff at a later date.

1636 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1636 Location: 2728 Capital Blvd., Raleigh, North Carolina 27604 Phone: 919-733-3221 \ FAX: 919-715-0588 \ Customer Service: 1-877-623-6748 Internet: www.ncwaterquality.org

An Equal Opportunity \ Affirmative Action Employer«Owner_Name» October 20, 2011 Page 2

A copy of the Study Plan prepared by USGS may be downloaded at our website: http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wq/aps/afo

If you have any questions about this letter or the Study Plan, please feel free to contact me at (919) 715-6697.

cc:

Sincerely,

Keith Larick, Supervisor Animal Feeding Operations Unit

Calibration and Sludge Surveys

All farms are required to calibrate their irrigation equipment and perform a sludge survey. General Permit Farms are required to calibrate at least once every two years and perform a sludge survey every year. NPDES farms must complete both every year. Remember you can apply for an exemption/

extension on how often you need to perform a sludge survey.

You can send the attached Sludge Exemption Letter and a copy of your most recent survey to DWQ. If your ratio of sludge layer volume to total treatment volume is 40% or 0.40 or less,

I recommend sending in an exemption request. DWQ will review your request

and inform you if they approved the exemption or not. You may contact the Extension office to schedule a free sludge survey or calibration.

Storm Warning Permit Information

On October 1, 2009, your general permit changed and some of the permit conditions changed too. Below is the new land application rule in regards to a Hurricane Warning, Tropical Storm Warning or a Flood Watch. If you have any questions, call the Extension Office at 910-592-7161.

Section II 22. Land application of waste is prohibited during precipitation events. The Permittee shall consider pending weather conditions in making the decision to land apply waste and shall document the weather conditions at the time of land application on forms supplied or approved by the Division.

Land application of waste shall cease within four (4) hours of the time that the National Weather Service issues a Hurricane Warning, Tropical Storm Warning, or a Flood Watch associated with a tropical system including a hurricane, tropical storm or tropical depression for the county in which the permitted facility is located. Watches and warnings are posted on the National Weather Service’s website located at www.weather.gov or by calling the Wilmington NWS office at 910-762-4289.

Changes To State Laws That May Affect Swine Farms

There are several changes from the NC General Assembly that affects swine farms. Below are some excerpts from the July 6^th and 26^th Porkline from the North Carolina Pork Council by Angie Whitener. This describes some of the new laws and how they may impact you.

State Budget Brings Changes to Swine Inspections

Appropriations Act of 2011 became law. To balance the budget, lawmakers had to close a $2.5 billion hole. As a result, there were many policy changes included in the budget bill in an effort to trim overhead, streamline services and end programs to reduce spending. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) experienced the most significant of these policy changes, with the transfer of both the Division of Soil and Water Conservation and the Division of Forestry from DENR to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The budget also made changes to the pork industry's inspection program. In the past, there have been two annual inspections performed on permitted swine farms: a technical inspection by the Division of Soil and Water Conservation and a regulatory inspection performed by the Division of Water Quality. As of July, swine farms will no longer receive an annual technical inspection from the Division of Soil and Water Conservation. Although that annual requirement no longer exists, two technical specialist positions were retained in the Division of Soil and Water, in part to provide technical assistance, conduct voluntary inspections, and respond to critical emergencies. There were no changes to the annual regulatory inspections performed by the NC Division of Water Quality. There was also no change to the Animal Waste Pilot Program currently operating in Pender, Jones, Columbus and Brunswick Counties. Counties in the Pilot are inspected twice annually by the Division of Soil and Water. In the budget bill, the program was slated to expire on June 30, 2011, but in the Budget Technical Corrections bill passed in the final days of the session, the program was extended until June 2013. Even though the program was extended, funding was not provided. So, Pilot Program inspections will likely be performed by one of the technical specialists retained to perform the voluntary technical inspections that will be done by the Division of Soil and Water Conservation. The budget established a new policy for anyone receiving a notice of violation (NOV) of an environmental statute or rule. The new policy provides a 10-day grace period between the time the NOV is issued and a civil penalty is assessed. The purpose of this grace period is to provide the person a greater opportunity to understand what corrective action is needed and either receive technical assistance and take corrective action or informally resolve matters involving the violation. A new program called the Agricultural Water Resources Assistance Program was established with passage of the budget. The program, which was funded with an initial $1 million, will provide cost-share funds to assist farmers and landowners in increasing water use efficiency, availability, and storage; implement best management practices to conserve and protect water resources; and to increase water availability for agricultural purposes. The program will be administered by the Soil and Water Conservation Commission.

Swine Farm Siting Act Amended

In 1995, a law called the "Swine Farm Siting Act" was enacted, establishing setback requirements when locating a new swine farm. The law requires that - unless written permission is given by the owner of the adjacent property and recorded with the Register of Deeds - a swine house must be located at least: 1,500 feet from any occupied residence. 2,500 feet from any school, hospital, church, outdoor recreational facility, national park, State Park, historic property, or child care center. 500 feet from any property boundary. 500 feet from any well supplying water to a public water system. 500 feet from any other well that supplies water for human consumption. Enforcement of this law lies only with the facility or property owner in the affected setback area. If a swine farm sited after October 1, 1995, violates the setbacks without obtaining permission from affected property owners, those property owners may bring a civil action against the swine facility. While swine facilities in existence prior to passage of that law in 1995 were not required to make changes to meet the new setbacks, the law has never been clear on whether a renovation or reconstruction on one of those existing farms would have to meet the setbacks. There are many reasons a swine house may need a renovation or reconstruction, including the expansion of a sow barn when moving to pen gestation or, as some pork producers found out in mid-April of this year: when a swine house is destroyed by tornado. NCPC first sought clarification of this law several years ago to protect a farmer from being exposed to civil action when making these needed renovations or reconstructions of existing barns in a setback area. The new law allows for renovations and reconstructions on swine houses built before October 1, 1995, as long as those renovations or reconstructions do not increase the permitted capacity of animals on the farm; increase the permitted capacity of the lagoon; result in any part of the updated structure being any closer to the buildings or property covered in the Swine Farm Siting Act; or result in the location or any part of a structure in the 100-year flood plain.

New Law to Address Growing Feral Swine

In 2009, NCPC initiated a stakeholder process to examine the growing problem of feral swine in NC and to identify any policy changes that might address the potential spread of disease from feral swine to our domestic herd. This year, legislation emerged that aims to stop the transport of feral swine into and around the state. The new law will go into effect on October 1, 2011. The new law will: Require identification approved by the state veterinarian's office of all swine in transport. (Swine currently transported using group/lot ID as accepted under federal law for interstate transport will also be sufficient in meeting this requirement.) Make it illegal to transport a swine without identification, punishable by a $5,000 per head fine and a Class 2 misdemeanor. Make it unlawful to remove any hog from a trap alive and impose up to a $5,000 per animal penalty if caught. Place feral swine under jurisdiction of the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, requiring a hunting license to hunt these animals but with no season or bag limits imposed

Landowner Protection Act

The new law will require anyone going onto posted land to hunt, fish or trap to have written consent of the property owner. The written and signed permission will have to be carried on one's person and shown to any law enforcement officer upon request. Failure to obtain permission will result in a misdemeanor. The new law also makes it easier for landowners to post their land, providing that in addition to posting property with signs, landowners may spray paint trees along the perimeter of their land with purple paint to indicate that the property is posted. The law will go into effect October 1, 2011.

EMC Declines to Adopt Proposed Monitoring Rule

The N.C. Environmental Management Commission (EMC) declined to adopt a proposed rule that was initiated in 2007 by a rule-making petition filed by the Waterkeepers Alliance. The proposed rule would have required farmers to take water samples at all permitted animal operations. The decision was based on the recommendations of a three-member panel of EMC members assigned to the case. The panel of hearing officers held public hearings across the state and reviewed hundreds of comments from hearing from both opponents and proponents of the proposed rule. After the hearings, the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources directed the Division of Water Quality (DWQ) to look into conducting a study of the proposed rule. In May of this year, DWQ and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) finalized a contract to perform a multi-year study of possible surface water impacts related to animal operations. At the recent EMC meeting, the three member panel of hearing officers said that they did not believe that the proposed monitoring rules would yield useful data that would provide a corresponding benefit to water quality and recommended that the full EMC not adopt the proposed rules. The panel also recommended that the EMC review the results of that study underway by DWQ and the USGS and that if the results of the study should indicate a need for monitoring, rules could again be considered. Further, if considered, the results of the study should be used to determine the type and frequency of monitoring to be performed.