DWQ Issues General Permit for Animal Waste Systems
RALEIGH -- A new animal waste general permit, which includes several revisions designed to improve water quality protection, has been issued for large-scale animal operations, the N.C. Division of Water Quality (DWQ) announced today.
Senate Bill 352, ratified last year by the General Assembly, mandated that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Interagency Group revise the general permits for animal operations. The Interagency Group includes representatives from DWQ, the N.C. Division of Soil and Water Conservation, N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, N.C. Cooperative Extension Service and U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The Division of Water Quality conducted four public meetings on February 19 in Asheville, Kenansville, Statesville and Tarboro to collect public comments. Approximately 260 people attended the meetings.
Several changes were made to the draft permit, issued May 18, as a result of public input collected at four public meetings and during the public comment period. The revisions include the prohibition of spraying in ditches and clarifying language to allow the application of animal waste to grassed waterways and terraces if done in accordance with NRCS standards.
The new permit requires notification within 24 hours to the DWQ regional offices when the freeboard requirements in permits are not maintained, and provide the DWQ division director with the authority to require groundwater monitoring on a case-by-case basis. In addition, the permit prohibits waste application onto food crops following the planting of the crop or at any time during the growing season. Clarifying language was added to the permits to emphasize that incorporation of waste is not required on conservation or “no-till” fields. However, the permit requires soil incorporation of waste applied to bare ground within 48 hours.
The general permit applies to animal operations that have 250 or more total hogs, 100 cattle or 30,000 poultry with a liquid waste management system. Eventually, approximately 3,000 large-scale facilities will be covered by the general permit.
# # #
Date Released: May 18
Return to Press Release Page.