Baseline Compliance

1
Baseline Compliance

• All farms in PA are subject to basic requirements
  for managing nutrients and providing erosion and
  sediment (ES) controls. Additional requirements
  apply to Concentrated Animal Operations (CAO) and
  Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO).
  The basic requirement of Clean Streams Law is to
  prevent manure nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus)
  and sediment runoff from causing surface or
  groundwater pollution.

2
Requirements to meet Baseline Compliance-Manure
Management

• DEP requires all farms to have and implement
  current, written plans describing their
  operations and their manure management and
  erosion and sediment control practices.
• Written nutrient management plan shall be updated
  to the current operation as needed and be
  retained on site.
• Required plans need not be prepared by a
  certified specialist or approved unless required
  by the department.
• Manure generation and application rates must
  follow the Penn State Agronomy Guide and not
  exceed the crop nutrient needs.
• Manure applied adjacent to streams will follow
  the requirements in the Manure Management Manual
  related to snow-covered, frozen, saturated ground
  and potential flooding

3
Baseline Compliance-Importing Manure

• If you purchase manure to import to your
  operation you need to be certified under the Act
  49 regulations
• Any commercial Hauler or Broker must be certified.

4
Baseline Compliance-Manure Storages

• A manure storage constructed after 2000 is
  required to have a professional engineer
  certification of DEP permit/approval.
• A storage must have adequate freeboard that meets
  the 25/24 hour storm event volume must always be
  maintained to minimize risk of overflow even
  during extreme storm events.
• DEP permits are needed for new or expanded liquid
  and semi-solid manure storage after 10/22/2005
  if
• Pondgt 1 million gallons in watersheds of high
  qualilty or agricultural nutrient impaired
  streams
• Any facility gt 2.5 million gallons

5
Baseline Compliance-Record Keeping

• Records of manure rates, fields, and timing are
  required.
• Records are kept on manure (and other nutrient
  sources generated and utilized on the operation)
  applications and crop yields by field, exported
  manure and revisions made to the nutrient
  management plan.
• Plans and records shall be retained on site and
  available for inspection for the previous 3 years.

6
Baseline Compliance-Soil Erosion

• A current, written erosion and sediment control
  plan implemented, maintained and available on
  site for plowing or tilling that disturbs 5000
  sq. feet or more is required
• A current, implemented Conservation Plan that (1)
  meets soil loss tolerance as an average across
  the crop rotation, for plowing and tilling and
  (2) protects water quality using erosion and
  sediment control best management practices in an
  option for satisfying this requirement.

7
Baseline Compliance-Soil Erosion Cont.

• NRCSs Conservation Catalog is recommended for
  guidance with soil erosion.
• BMPs are installed and maintained to minimize
  the potential for accelerated erosion and
  sedimentation from crop fields and pastures. The
  essential requirement is to prevent loss of
  sediment to surface waters which would cause
  water pollution.

8
Baseline Compliance-Direct Discharge

• It is required to have practices in place to
  prevent direct discharge or runoff from
  barnyards, exercise lots, feed lots and milk
  house.
• If you have direct discharge you are in violation
  of the clean streams law. Unlawful discharges,
  including those from fields, silage and manure
  storage facilities, milk house, barnyards and
  animal concentration areas, are subject to
  enforcement.

9
BMPs

• BMPs Best Management Practices
• Examples
• Diversions
• Roof Gutters
• Waterways
• Manure Storages
• Barnyard improvements
• Composters
• Strip Cropping/Contour Farming