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Livestock producers should know environmental regulationsIowa livestock environmental regulations are an important factor when building new livestock facilities and keeping up old facilities, according to agricultural attorney Eldon McAfee. McAfee discussed what livestock farmers need to know about environmental compliance during the recent Farming Matters forum sponsored by the Coalition to Support Iowa's Farmers, held at Independence, Iowa. "It is important to keep your feedlots clean," said McAfee as he explained the Lowell Vos Feedlot case in which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had alleged that Vos' 2,200 head cattle feedlot in northwest Iowa had discharged to waters of the U.S. without certain permits, and thus charged Vos with a $157,500 penalty. Vos showed there was no evidence of discharge, except for on a computer model. The judge in the case ruled that sampling is the only reliable way to establish whether a discharge actually occurred. McAfee said this case set out some key points for feedlot producers: EPA must have samples or other credible evidence of a discharge of pollutants to a water of the U.S.; feedlot producers must keep their feedlots in good condition and clean; and a discharge under the Clean Water Act occurs only when manure or feedlot runoff reaches a water of the U.S.--not upon leaving the feedlot. New legislation McAfee told the group that legislation is what controls the regulations and getting to know legislators is the best way to make them understand livestock practices. As of July 1, 2009, legislation took effect regarding manure application on frozen or snow-covered ground. "This applies only to confinement operations with a manure management plan and does not apply to dry manure," he said. "All manure must continue to be applied so as to not cause water pollution." The legislation states that all manure (dry or liquid) from any animal feeding operation (confinement or open feedlot) may be applied on frozen (does not include ground frozen only in top 2 inches or less) or snow-covered ground (at least one inch of snow or a half inch of ice) except as restricted in the legislation. The legislation states that there should be no surface application of liquid manure from a confinement operation on frozen ground from Feb. 1 to April 1 or on snow-covered ground from Dec. 21 to April 1 except in an emergency. McAfee said an emergency would include natural disaster, unusual weather conditions or equipment or structural failure. If a producer thinks they have one of these emergencies, they must first call the Department of Natural Resources to identify the land and follow the proper protocol. Stockpiling dry manure for future application has guidelines, as well, to avoid problems with contamination, and must be applied to land within a certain time period. "These regulations are put into place to avoid problems with contamination," he said. "There continue to be new regulations and changing legislation, so it is important to keep up with the changes to keep your operation in working order." Producer involvement Chris Gruenhagen, government relations counsel for the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, said producers should become involved in the rules process so they know how new rules and legislation come about. "Some agency directors have rulemaking authority; some governor-appointed boards have to approve both the public comment draft and the final rule," she said. "Most rules have a public comment period and all rules are reviewed by the legislative Administrative Rules Review Committee." Gruenhagen suggested for farmers to become involved in their local farmer or commodity organizations to help get the word of the producer out to the rule makers. She suggested going to public forums, knowing your stance, and addressing and rebutting others' comments if necessary. "If you don't comment, your thoughts won't be considered," she said. "Make the comments personal to your farm to put a face on agriculture and talk about how a certain rule will affect your farm." For more information on environmental rule changes, go to: www.iowadnr.gov/afo/index.html or www.ifbf.org. Jennifer Bremer can be reached by phone at 515-833-2120, or by e-mail at jbremer@hpj.com.
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