| (a) Applicability. These requirements apply to a concentrated
animal feeding operation (CAFO) subject to the requirements of the
Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, unless otherwise noted.
(b) Permits. A CAFO shall comply with §305.125
of this title (relating to Standard Permit Conditions) and all applicable
permit conditions contained in commission rules. Requirements to provide
for and ensure compliance with standards set by the rules of the commission
and the laws of Texas shall be determined and included in an individual
water quality permit on a case-by-case basis to reflect the best method
for attaining such compliance. Each permit shall contain terms and
conditions as the commission determines necessary to protect human
health and safety, and the environment.
(c) Nutrient management plan (NMP).
(1) The operator of a large CAFO shall develop and
implement an NMP certified by a person or entity identified in §321.32(10)
of this title (relating to Definitions) to be in accordance with the
Texas Natural Resources Conservation Service NRCS Practice Standard
Code 590. The plan shall include site-specific nutrient management
practices that ensure appropriate agricultural utilization of nutrients
in the manure, sludge, or wastewater. The NMP shall be updated annually.
The operator shall determine the amount, in tons/acre or acre-inches/acre,
of manure, sludge, and wastewater for each land management unit (LMU)
using the following methodology:
(A) determine the phosphorus index rating using the
Agronomy Technical Note No. 15 Phosphorus Assessment Tool of Texas;
(B) determine the maximum annual application rate using
Appendix 5 of the NRCS Practice Standard Code 590 for Texas;
(C) determine the crop requirement or the crop removal
rate, as appropriate, from the S Crops Table as contained in the Texas
NRCS 590-Software Tool, site-specific historic CAFO yield data, or
other sources as approved by the executive director; and
(D) account for:
(i) the results of soil tests required by §321.40(m)(1)(B)
of this title (relating to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO)
Land Application Requirements);
(ii) credits for all nitrogen in the soil that will
be available for plant use;
(iii) the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in the
manure and wastewater to be applied;
(iv) consideration of multi-year phosphorus application
(for any LMU where nutrients are applied at a rate based on crop phosphorus
requirement, the methodology must account for single-year nutrient
applications that supply more than the crop's annual phosphorus requirement);
and
(v) all other additions of plant available nitrogen
and phosphorus to the LMU (i.e., from sources other than manure or
wastewater or credits for residual nitrogen).
(2) Terms of the NMP include the following:
(A) animal type and authorized head count;
(B) LMU and application acreage for each LMU;
(C) crops (including alternative crops) identified
in the NMP with their yield goals for each LMU;
(D) the maximum application rates for nitrogen and
phosphorus for each crop in each LMU;
(E) the methodology in paragraph (1) of this subsection
(including formulas, sources of data, protocols for making determinations,
etc.) and actual data used to calculate application rates; and
(F) any other factors necessary to determine the amounts
of nitrogen and phosphorus to be applied.
(3) Changes to a NMP. Any changes, except changes resulting
from annual recalculation, must be submitted to the executive director.
The NMP will be reviewed by the executive director to determine if
changes require revisions to the terms of the NMP. Revisions to terms
of the NMP can be substantial or non-substantial.
(4) Substantial and non-substantial changes. Those
changes that constitute a substantial change are defined in §321.32(56)
of this title. Non-substantial changes include, but are not limited
to, changes to the site-specific LMU information in the Phosphorus
index Worksheet, changes to the maximum application rate of nitrogen
or phosphorus to be land applied or changes in the phosphorus index
rating.
(5) If changes to the terms of the NMP are determined
to be substantial, the changes must be incorporated into the permit
in accordance with §321.33(g) of this title (relating to Applicability
and Required Authorizations).
(6) If changes to the terms of the NMP are determined
to be non-substantial, the executive director will notify the permittee
and include the revised permit in the permit record.
(7) The CAFO operator shall create, maintain for five
years, and make available to the executive director, upon request,
a copy of the site-specific NMP and records of manure and wastewater
application.
(d) Compliance with the requirements of this section
and applicable requirements of this subchapter constitute compliance
with the provisions of 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §122.42(e)(1)(i)
- (ix).
(e) Buffers for LMUs. A sinkhole shall be protected
with a 100-foot buffer from manure, sludge, and wastewater application.
Alternatively, the CAFO may substitute a 35-foot wide vegetative buffer
around a sinkhole where alternative conservation practices or field-specific
conditions will provide pollutant reductions equivalent to or better
than the reductions that would be achieved by the 100-foot buffer.
(f) Soil sampling and testing procedures for dairy
CAFOs, both state-only and Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System,
located in a major sole-source impairment zone.
(1) Initial sampling. Before commencing land application
of manure, sludge, or wastewater on an LMU, the operator shall collect
and analyze at least one representative soil sample from each of the
LMUs according to the following procedures. The CAFO operator is not
required to collect soil samples or report on LMUs where manure, litter,
or wastewater has not been applied during the preceding year. The
CAFO operator must comply with the initial sampling requirement before
resuming land application to such LMUs.
(2) Annual sampling. The TCEQ or its designee shall
annually collect soil samples, according to the following procedures,
for each LMU owned, operated, controlled, rented or leased by the
CAFO operator where manure, litter, or wastewater was applied during
the preceding year. The results of these analyses shall be used in
determining the application rates for manure, sludge and wastewater.
(3) Sampling procedures. Soil sampling procedures shall
employ sampling procedures using accepted techniques of soil science
for obtaining representative samples and analytical results.
(A) Samples shall be collected using approved procedures
described in this section and the agency's publication, RG-408 entitled
"Soil Sampling for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations."
(B) Samples shall be collected by the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality or its designee and analyzed by a soil testing
laboratory within the same 45-day time frame each year (from 45 days
prior to until 45 days after the date of the previous year's sampling
date), except when crop rotations or inclement weather require a change
in the sampling time frame.
(C) One composite sample shall be obtained for each
soil depth zone per uniform soil type (soils with the same characteristics
and texture) within each LMU.
(D) Composite samples shall be comprised of 10 - 15
randomly sampled cores obtained from each of the following soil depth
zones:
(i) Zone 1: zero to six inches (for an LMU where the
manure is incorporated directly into the soil) or zero to two inches
(for an LMU where the manure is not incorporated into the soil). Wastewater
is considered to be incorporated. If a zero to two-inch sample is
required under this subsection, then an additional sample from the
two to six-inch soil depth zone shall be obtained in accordance with
the provisions of this section; and
(ii) Zone 2: six to 24 inches.
(4) Laboratory analysis. Laboratory analysis of the
soil samples shall be performed for physical and chemical parameters
to include: nitrate as nitrogen in parts per million (ppm), extractable
phosphorus (ppm, using Mehlich III with Inductively Coupled Plasma
(ICP)), potassium (extractable, ppm); sodium (extractable, ppm); magnesium
(extractable, ppm); calcium (extractable, ppm); soluble salts (ppm)
or electrical conductivity (deciSiemens/meter (dS/m) or millimhos/cm
(mmhos/cm) - determined from extract of 2:1 volume to volume (v/v)
water/soil mixture); and soil water pH.
Cont'd... |
