| (a) Purpose. This section provides an animal feeding
operation (AFO) that is not defined or designated as a concentrated
animal feeding operation (CAFO) authorization to operate, and identifies
the operational requirements necessary to achieve the purposes of
this subchapter.
(b) Applicability.
(1) Except as identified in paragraph (2) of this subsection,
the owner or operator of an AFO not defined or designated as a CAFO
who uses a control facility to manage manure, sludge, or wastewater
generated on site shall comply with all the requirements of this section.
(2) The owner or operator of an AFO not defined or
designated as a CAFO who qualifies for, obtains, and is operating
under a certified water quality management plan from the Texas State
Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB) and subsection (c)(1) -
(4) of this section are considered to meet all technical requirements
of this section.
(3) The owner of an AFO not defined or designated as
a CAFO who uses an alternative treatment practice, such as filter
strips (Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Code 393), constructed
wetlands (NRCS Code 656), or vegetated treatment areas (NRCS Code
635), instead of a control facility to manage manure, sludge, or wastewater
generated on site shall comply with all the requirements of this section
except the requirements mentioned in subsection (d) and (e) of this
section.
(c) General requirements.
(1) An AFO operator must locate, construct, and manage
the control facility, alternative treatment practice, and land management
unit (LMU) in a manner that will protect surface and groundwater quality.
(2) An AFO operator must prevent nuisance conditions
and minimize odor conditions in accordance with the requirements of §321.31(b)
of this title (relating to Manure, Litter, and Wastewater Discharge
and Air Emission Limitations).
(3) Proper pen drainage shall be maintained at all
times. Earthen pen areas shall be maintained to ensure good drainage
by scraping uncompacted manure and shaping pen surfaces as necessary
to minimize odors and ponding.
(4) An AFO shall not expand operations, either in size
or numbers of animals, before amending or enlarging the manure handling
procedures and structures to accommodate all additional manure that
will be generated by the expanded operations.
(5) As applicable to the operation, the production
area of a new or expanding AFO must comply with the requirements of §321.41
of this title (relating to Special Requirements for Discharges to
a Playa).
(6) All control facilities, alternative treatment practices,
holding pens, and retention control structures (RCSs) must be located
outside of the 100-year flood plain unless the structures are protected
from inundation and damage that may occur during the 100-year flood
event.
(7) Where applicable, equivalent measures contained
in a site-specific plan which meet the requirements of this subchapter
may be substituted for applicable best management practices and/or
portions of the technical requirements in this subchapter. Equivalent
measures may be contained in:
(A) United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- NRCS Field Office Technical Guide for Texas; or
(B) TSSWCB rules; or
(C) a certified water quality management plan certified
by the TSSWCB; or
(D) a comprehensive nutrient management plan (CNMP)
certified by the TSSWCB, the USDA - NRCS, or their designee.
(8) The AFO operator shall adhere to the well buffer
requirements in §321.38(b) of this title (relating to Control
Facility Design Requirements Applicable to Concentrated Animal Feeding
Operations (CAFOs)) and §321.40(g) of this title (relating to
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) Land Application Requirements).
(d) Control facilities.
(1) The AFO operator shall minimize entry of uncontaminated
runoff into RCSs. Such measures may include the construction of berms,
embankments, or similar structures.
(2) The AFO may discharge from the production area
if the discharge is the result of a chronic or catastrophic rainfall
event, or catastrophic condition that exceeds the design capacity
of an RCS that has been properly designed, constructed, operated,
and maintained. RCSs shall be designed in accordance with §321.38
of this title.
(3) The AFO operator constructing a new or modifying
an existing RCS shall ensure that all construction and design is certified
by a licensed Texas professional engineer. The certification shall
be signed and sealed in accordance with the requirements of the Texas
Board of Professional Engineers. All RCS design and construction shall,
at a minimum, be in accordance with the technical standards developed
by the NRCS, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers,
American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Testing Materials,
or other technical standards approved by the executive director, that
are in effect at the time of construction. Where site-specific variations
are warranted, the operator must ensure a licensed Texas professional
engineer documents these variations and their appropriateness to the
plan.
(4) Existing RCSs that have been properly maintained
without any modifications and have no apparent structural problems
or leakage will be considered to be properly designed and constructed
with respect to the RCS sizing, embankment design and construction,
and liner requirements of this subchapter, provided that any required
documentation was completed in accordance with the requirements at
the time of construction. If no documentation exists, the RCS must
be certified by a licensed Texas professional engineer as providing
protection equivalent to the requirements of this section. Structures
built in accordance with site-specific NRCS plans and specifications
will be considered to be in compliance with the design and capacity
requirements of this subchapter if the site-specific conditions are
the same as those used by the NRCS to develop the plan (numbers of
animals, runoff area, manure generated, etc.) and the RCS is operated
and maintained in accordance with NRCS requirements.
(5) RCS embankments and liners shall be designed and
constructed in accordance with the requirements of §321.38 of
this title.
(6) The AFO operator must maintain copies of documentation
of the sources of information, assumptions, and calculations used
in determining the appropriate volume capacity of the RCSs.
(7) An irrigation system or other liquid manure removal
system used by an AFO must be designed to ensure that the system is
capable of dewatering the RCSs on a regular schedule. RCSs shall be
equipped with irrigation, or wastewater removal systems capable of
dewatering the RCSs whenever needed to restore the operating capacity.
Dewatering equipment shall be maintained in proper working order.
(8) Sludge shall be removed from RCSs to prevent the
accumulation of sludge from encroaching on other required storage
volumes.
(e) Operation and maintenance.
(1) Sufficient volume shall be maintained at all times
within the RCS to accommodate sludge, wastewaters, and contaminated
stormwater (rainwater runoff and direct precipitation) from the AFO
facility.
(2) The operator shall restore such capacity after
each rainfall event or accumulation of manure, sludge, or process-generated
wastewater that reduces such capacity, when conditions are favorable
for irrigation. Favorable conditions shall be when the soil moisture
level decreases so that irrigation will not cause runoff.
(3) The normal operating wastewater level in the RCS
shall be maintained within the design of the RCS. If the water level
in the RCS encroaches into the storage volume reserved for the design
rainfall event the operator must document the conditions that resulted
in this occurrence. As soon as irrigation is not prohibited, the AFO
operator shall irrigate until the water level is at or below the design
rainfall level.
(4) Adequate equipment shall be available and maintained
in good working order to remove such manure, sludge, and wastewater
from the RCS as required to maintain the required volume in compliance
with this subchapter.
(5) A rain gauge capable of measuring the design rainfall
event shall be installed on site and properly maintained.
(6) The AFO operator shall install and maintain a permanent
pond marker in the RCS, visible from the top of the embankment that
identifies, either physically or by onsite documentation, the volume
required for the design rainfall event.
Cont'd... |
