New proposals have zero-discharge requirement for swine and poultry confinement facilities

Current regulations exempt operations from penalties if their manure handling facilities overflow in extreme rainfall events. This exemption is based on the 25-year, 24-hour rainfall design standard. This standard requires Missouri facilities to contain a six to seven-inch rainfall event without overflowing even when the storage has filled to its planned capacity.

If rainfall exceeds this design storm, the operation would not be fined if the excessive portion of the rainfall is released from storage.

EPA, in the proposed rules, is eliminating this exemption for hog and poultry operations. Any loss of manure under any precipitation event would be a violation of the permit.

The objective of the new rule is to eliminate any contact of precipitation with animals and manure storage facilities. This new standard would be applied to both new and existing manure storage facilities.

It is not clear if existing lagoons can be retrofitted to meet this new standard. The EPA believes that covers can be put on existing lagoons to allow them to meet requirements of the new standard.

If appropriate lagoon covers are not possible then existing lagoons would need to be closed and covered storage would need to be built.

The impact of this proposed rule on existing operations with lagoons or earth pits is still being debated. Existing poultry facilities that house birds on litter inside buildings and store used litter in covered sheds already meet this standard.

New operations are expected to build covered manure storage. EPA proposes high-rise production facilities are the best way for new hog and poultry operations to meet this new standard.

High-rise facilities allow for composting manure below the animals.

Alternatively, hog operations could use covered manure slurry storage systems or operations that separate solids and liquids, storing solids in sheds and liquids in covered tanks.

Dairy and beef operations are not required to meet this new standard. They will continue to be covered by the 25-year, 24-hour rainfall standard exemption.