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US EPA New Safety Measures for Soil Fumigant
Building a Farm Pond
Above Ground Storage Tanks
Debris Removal Aid Available to Farmers - The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources is providing more than $600,000 to fund debris removal from streams and drainage ways in portions of Eastern North Carolina. "We have worked diligently to help our farmers who were so severely affected by Hurricane Irene," N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue said. "My administration is able to provide funding to help clean out these streams, so that potential flooding and drainage problems don't add additional harm to the farmers." The grant money comes from water resource development project funds managed by the N.C. Division of Water Resources. The bulk of the funding-$600,000-will be provided to the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The NCDA&CS will sponsor clean-up and restoration efforts in the following Eastern North Carolina counties impacted by Hurricane Irene and the spring tornadoes: Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Hertford, Hyde, Jones, Martin, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrell and Washington. This project will help restore the water management infrastructure in the affected counties and reduce flood damage from future rainfall events.
Some Pesticides Applications Require NPDES Permits - On December 13, 2011, the NC Division of Water Quality issued its final National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Pesticide General Permit for point source discharges from the application of pesticides that are on or near "waters." The need for the permit came about as a result of a US Appeals Court Decision that ruled against the 2006 US Environmental Protection Agency Rule on Aquatic Pesticides. The Court acknowledged that EPA regulates pesticide applications under its specific pesticide authority (FIFRA, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act). However the Court said the EPA did not have the authority to issue the 2006 rule stating that pesticide applications did not require NPDES permits. The Court stated that any chemical pesticides that leave a residue and all biological pesticides are "pollutants" regulated under the Clean Water Act. The Court also said that applications of these "pollutants" on or near waters were point source discharges under the Clean Water Act, triggering the permit requirement. Therefore, coverage under an NPDES permit is required for certain types of pesticides applications. In NC, these applications are: (1) mosquito and other flying insect pest control, (2) aquatic weed and algae Control, (3) aquatic animal pest control, (4) forest canopy pest control, and (5) intrusive vegetation control. Note that EPA has indicated that an NPDES permit is not required for most typical agricultural crop applications.
EPA held a webcast to discuss the NPDES permit requirement which is available for viewing: click here
The first part of the webcast is a general overview, relevant to all of the US. The second part of webcast provides information on EPA's national permit and is not relevant to NC. NC has its own general permit for pesticides applications that can be accessed at: http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wq/swp/ps/npdes by clicking on "PESTICIDE General Permit". To determine if you need permit coverage, review the descriptions of the pesticide applications covered under the NC permit, listed on the second page of the permit. Then review the threshold amounts of applications that are listed in Table 1 on page 4. If you decide you need permit coverage, you can access the application at: http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wq/swp/ps/npdes/appforms under General Permits, Pesticides, Applications. For more information on NC's permit and what pesticides applications need coverage, contact Charles Weaver, NC Division of Water Quality NPDES Permit Unit in Winston-Salem (919-807-6391)
Falls Lake Ag Nutrient Reduction Group Begins Work - The Falls Lake Watershed Oversight Committee (WOC) has begun the tasks assigned to it in the Falls Lake Nutrient Strategy Rules. The committee is responsible for determining farmers' progress toward meeting nutrient reduction goals in the Falls Lake watershed. These rules were adopted by the N.C. Environmental Management Commission in November 2010. The mandated goals for farmers are a 20 percent reduction of nitrogen from 2006 levels and a 40 percent reduction of phosphorous from 2006, both by the year 2020. For agriculture, these reductions are estimated as nutrient losses that would go offsite at the edge of a field or management unit. If farmers do not collectively meet the reduction goals, much higher goals and individual mandates will be imposed. Contact: Anne Coan, NCFB's environmental affairs director and chair of the Falls Lake WOC. http://www.ncagr.gov/sw/falls-nsw-registration.html
EPA Seeks Public Comment on Atrazine Ban - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking public comment on a request from the environmental advocacy group Save the Frogs to ban the use and production of atrazine. Comments filed with EPA by American Farm Bureau stressed that none of the information submitted in the Save the Frogs' petition justifies additional regulatory action or restriction of atrazine. "Scientists have not found credible evidence of an effect by atrazine on a single animal species in the field, let alone a human population, despite a history of more than 50 years of the chemical's use," American Farm Bureau wrote in its comments. "This high profile crop protection product has been the subject of intense scrutiny ever since it has been on the market and has been the subject of 11 Science Advisory Panels in the last decade alone." Farmers concerned about the potential restrictions on atrazine's use are encouraged to submit comments to EPA. Comments must be received on or before Nov. 14. The Federal Register notice and petition can be found here. Background information on the regulation of atrazine by EPA can be found here.
SPCC Plans' Deadline Extended by EPA - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued a rule extending the date by which farms must prepare or amend and implement their Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plans to May 10, 2013. SPCC Plans are required for farms with above ground storage of fuels and other oils that meet certain size criteria. An overwhelming segment of the continental United States was affected by flooding during the spring and summer of 2011. Other areas were impacted by devastating fires. Many counties in a number of states were declared disaster areas by either the federal or state government or both. As a result, the EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson indicated that because of their unique nature, farms were disproportionately affected and would need additional time to prepare and implement their Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure Plans. NCFB brought this issue to the attention of EPA in recent meetings with EPA staff. The amendment does not remove the regulatory requirement for owners or operators of farms in operation before Aug. 16, 2002, to maintain and continue implementing an SPCC Plan in accordance with the SPCC regulations then in effect. Farms that installed regulated storage tanks before 2002 are already under the requirements of the SPCC rule and should have a plan in place or updated to comply with the new requirements. In either circumstance, EPA recommends that farmers who are regulated under SPCC, and do not currently have a plan, should prepare plans and make necessary improvements as soon as practical. NCFB staff will continue to educate farmers about these regulations and work with EPA to make more farmer friendly information available. For further information on the SPCC requirements contact Paul Sherman or Anne Coan at NCFB.
UPDATE – Comment Period Extended on EPA Proposed CAFO Reporting Rule - EPA is proposing a rule that would require concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) to submit basic operational information to EPA. The proposal is part of a settlement agreement reached with the Natural Resources Defense Council, Waterkeeper Alliance and the Sierra Club. Under the proposed rule, EPA is co-proposing two regulatory options regarding which CAFOs would be required to submit information to the EPA. One option would require every CAFO to report this information to EPA, unless states with authorized NPDES programs choose to provide this information on behalf of the CAFOs in their state. In North Carolina, it is likely the N.C. Division of Water Quality would be able to supply EPA with the requested information for all wet waste management systems that meet the reporting criteria, but dry litter operations meeting the reporting thresholds would have to provide the information to EPA themselves. A second option proposed by EPA would require CAFOs in focus watersheds that have water quality concerns associated with CAFOs to report information to EPA. EPA is planning to hold two webcasts in on the rule on November 9 and 17 (see registration details below). The comment period on the proposed rule has been extended through January 19, 2012. US EPA plans to take final action on this proposed reporting rule by July 2012. Here are links to further information: Proposed Rule, EPA Fact Sheet, EPA Q&A
Ozone Standards Put On Hold - The White House announced that it is shelving a major Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation that would have tightened smog standards. The EPA had proposed a new National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone. The draft rule released last January proposed lowering the air quality standard for ozone to between 60 and 70 parts per billion (ppb). EPA previously lowered the standard from 85 ppb to 75 ppb in 2008. The ozone reconsideration has drawn heavy criticism from businesses, some of which would be required to control emissions of those ozone precursors. EPA has estimated that a standard between 60 and 70 ppb would cost between $19 billion and $90 billion. The White House said the President is committed to reducing regulatory uncertainty for businesses and cited an upcoming review of the ozone rule in 2013 as reason to delay it. NCFB staff will continue to monitor these regulations when they come back up for review in a few years.
Farmers in Falls Lake Watershed Must Register - The Falls Lake rules adopted by the N.C. Environmental Management Commission require crop and livestock farmers in the watershed, including those with five or more horses, to register their farms online or through the mail by Jan. 15, 2012. Farmers in the following counties could be located in the Falls Lake watershed: Durham, Franklin, Granville, Orange, Person, and Wake. NCFB's Anne Coan, (919) 782-1705, can help answer questions about the Falls Lake rules. To determine your registration requirements, contact your county Soil and Water Conservation District, or visit the N.C. Division of Soil and Water Conservation website: http://www.ncagr.gov/sw/neusetarpamstrategies.html. NCFB's Anne Coan, (919) 782-1705, can help answer questions about the Falls Lake rules.
California Carbon Trading System Delayed - Carbon cap-and-trade is a cornerstone of California's approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Cap-and-trade is also a key component of the state's participation in the Western Climate Initiative, which involves a number of U.S. states and Canadian provinces and aims to reduce carbon emissions across jurisdictions. The California Air Resources Board indicated it is proposing to start the program in 2012, but it will delay the first compliance period to 2013. Quarterly auctions of emissions allowances will begin in the second half of 2012, rather than February 2012 as planned. The first three-year compliance period, which originally covered 2012-14, will be shortened to two years. The agency is on track to finish its regulations by the end of October. Several companies have been looking at the agricultural and forestry industry in North Carolina for possible carbon offset projects with the intent of selling the credits into the California market. NCFB staff will continue to monitor this issue.