Staying Current with new Dairy Regulations

By Gwen Huff, CAFF San Joaquin Valley Regional Coordinator

With new environmental regulations about to be implemented, and others gaining momentum, the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) and the Ecological Farming Association (EFA) worked together on a series of dairy workshops intended to provide information on these changes to dairy producers and other industry professionals. This is a report on the third and final workshop in the series.

California dairies are coming under increasing regulation by federal, state and local government agencies in order to conserve and protect the natural resources of this state. Of primary concern are the impacts on groundwater and air quality. Regulatory agencies, such as the State Water Resources Control Board, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and counties have been sued, or were under threat of lawsuit, by private organizations and other government agencies to force compliance with existing environmental regulations and increase regulation of dairy operations. Speakers at this workshop represented these regulatory agencies, explaining the background of their programs. To add a dose of in-the-field optimism, two dairymen wrapped up the morning by presenting new practices they had employed on their dairies and how those new practices helped overcome potential environmental challenges.

Merced County Environmental Health Director Jeff Palsgaard presented an outline of Merced County’s new animal confinement ordinance. The new ordinance will be presented to the county board of supervisors in August and is expected to be adopted at that time. Palsgaard has worked closely with the dairy industry and representatives of governmental agencies to craft an ordinance that would not cause undue burden on the dairy producers in Merced County, yet still provide for adequate environmental protection. The new ordinance is intended to give dairymen a single set of regulations that will encompass federal, state and county regulations. Some of the more significant changes dairy operators can expect include:

• All facilities must complete a Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan (CNMP) by December 2006.
• An annual report must be submitted by all facilities beginning 2004.
• An engineer must design new retention ponds and settling basins.
• An inspection of a facility must be conducted by the Division of Environmental Health at least every 3 years (once every 2 years in sensitive areas)

John Menke of the State Water Resources Control Board provided a handout summarizing state and regional Water Quality Control Board regulatory programs for dairies. He emphasized that dairy operators will need to find out which regulations apply to their particular dairy. This could be done by completion of the Dairy Quality Assurance Program (DQAP), or by contacting the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. He said that questions could be answered anonymously over the phone if privacy was an issue.

In brief, new federal regulations will require that CAFOs prepare comprehensive nutrient management plans (CNMPs) beginning in December, 2002. State regulations will not change, but state permitting will. Currently most dairies in the Central Valley operate under waivers for state NPDES permits. In January 2003 these waivers will expire. County regulations will vary from county to county. Dairy operators will need to contact either the county planning agency or the departments of environmental health to find which regulations will apply to their dairies.

Air quality regulations were covered by Dave Mitchell of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. He said that dairies have been identified as a large and growing source of reactive organic gases (ROG) and ammonia air emissions. They are also significant contributors to pollution levels of particulate matter. Because new air quality attainment plans are under development, and the EPA has a legal action pending against California because dairies have been exempt from air district permits, dairies are gaining increasing attention by the air districts. In fact, Mitchell said that air districts may be required to issue federal air permits to dairies in the near future. It is also widely acknowledged that the science for measuring the air emissions from dairies is outdated, but research now being done at California State University Fresno - CIT, University of California, Davis and Texas A&M, National Academy of Sciences, US EPA and USDA into improving these methods.

The two dairymen that spoke at the workshop, Richard Dias of Hanford and Ray Gene Veldhuis of Winton, are on-farm innovators who have come up with practices that are very helpful to their dairy operations.

Richard Dias gave a presentation on a system for manure management that he has been using on his dairy. The waste water from the flush lanes goes into an initial holding pond that has agitators to keep solids in suspension. The water is then moved through the first screen (0.035 inch) where solids are removed and used for bedding. From there, the water continues on to the second holding pond, which also has agitators to keep the remaining solids in suspension.

This water is moved through a second screen (0.008 inches) where more solids are removed and used for bedding. The remaining liquid goes to the waste storage pond, where it is aerated to reduce odors and nutrient volatilization. Dias feels this system has really benefited his dairy in that his flush water is cleaner and he needs much less lagoon storage capacity.

The final workshop speaker was Ray Gene Veldhuis of RV Dairy in Winton. Because his dairy is located adjacent to the Merced River, Veldhuis wanted to be certain that he was not contaminating the river. His method was to employ a laboratory to sample the soil in his crop fields for nutrients. During his presentation he showed bar graphs derived from these soil samples taken over two years. During that time he was able to determine which fields had an excess of nitrogen and which had a deficit. Then, using a system of flow meters and nitrogen quick tests in his lagoon, he could manage his manure applications so that only fields that needed nutrients would receive them, and in the proper amounts. He said that there was a large cost saving to the dairy operation since he converted from routine fertilizer applications to basing his applications on soil monitoring.

For more information please contact Gwen Huff at (559) 268-2696.