Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 391 - RULES OF GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES › Chapter 391-3 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Subject 391-3-6 - WATER QUALITY CONTROL › Rule 391-3-6-.20 - Swine Feeding Operation Permit Requirements For Operations With More Than 3000 Animal Units

Current through Rules and Regulations filed
				through June 27, 2024
(1)
Purpose.
The purpose of this paragraph
				  391-3-6-.20 is to provide for the
				  uniform procedures and practices to be followed relating to the application for
				  and the issuance or revocation of permits for swine feeding operations with
				  more than 3000 Animal Units. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to
				  preclude the modification of any requirement of this paragraph when the
				  Division determines that the requirement is not protective of the
				  environment.
(2)
Definitions.
All terms used in this paragraph shall be interpreted in
				  accordance with the definitions as set forth in the Act unless otherwise
				  defined in this paragraph or in any other paragraph of these Rules:
(a) "Act" means the Georgia Water Quality
				Control Act, as amended;
(b) "Swine
				feeding operation" or "operation" means a lot or facility where swine have
				been, are, or will be stabled or confined or fed or maintained for a total of
				at least 45 days in any 12-month period, and the confinement areas do not
				sustain crops, vegetation, forage growth, or post-harvest residues in the
				normal growing season.
(c) "Animal
				Unit" (AU) is a unit of measurement for any swine feeding operation calculated
				by the number of swine weighing over 25 kilograms (approximately 55 pounds)
				multiplied by 0.4.
(d) "Barn" means
				a structure where confinement feeding (feeding in limited quarters under a
				roof) occurs. Structures where confinement feeding does not occur are not
				considered "barns" for the purposes of this rule.
(e) "Certified operator" means any person who
				has been trained and certified by the Georgia Department of Agriculture and has
				direct general charge of the day-to-day field operation of a swine feeding
				operation waste storage and disposal system, and who is responsible for the
				quality of the treated waste.
(f)
				"Closure plan" means the plan approved by the Division for clean up and closure
				of the swine feeding operation and associated waste storage and disposal
				facilities.
(g) "Concentrated
				Animal Feeding Operation," or "CAFO," means a swine feeding operation which is
				defined as a Large CAFO or Medium CAFO by
				40 CFR
				122.23(4) and (6), or that
				is designated as a CAFO.
(h)
				"Existing" applies to that which existed prior to the effective date of this
				rule. "Existing operation" means a swine feeding operation that was in
				operation prior to September 15, 2003.
(i) "Freeboard" is the extra depth added to a
				waste storage lagoon or structure as a safety factor between the designed full
				depth and the overflow depth. This is the vertical distance below the lowest
				point of the lagoon or structure berm above which the liquid level must never
				rise except in the case of a storm event exceeding the design maximum
				precipitation event.
(j) "Natural
				Resources Conservation Services" (NRCS) is an agency within the United States
				Department of Agriculture.
(k)
				"New" applies to that which existed on or after September 15, 2003. "New or
				expanding operation" or "new swine feeding operation" means a swine feeding
				operation the construction or expansion of which is commenced on or after
				September 15, 2003.
(l) "NRCS
				guidance" means the latest editions of the Natural Resources Conservation
				Service (NRCS) Agricultural Waste Management Field Handbook, Part 651, Field
				Office Technical Guidance Section IV Georgia, and other applicable publications
				of the NRCS. A certified specialist or trained person may use NRCS guidance to
				develop or modify a NMP.
(m)
				"Nutrient Management Plan" (NMP) is a plan which identifies actions or
				priorities that will be followed to meet clearly defined nutrient management
				goals at an agricultural operation. Defining nutrient management goals and
				identifying measures and schedules for attaining the goals are critical to
				reducing threats to water quality and public health. The NMP should address
				activities related to compliance with effluent limitations and other permit
				requirements, including manure handling and storage, land application of manure
				and wastewater, site management, record keeping, and management of other
				utilization options. For a swine feeding operation with a liquid manure
				handling system, the NMP must be developed or modified by a "certified
				specialist" as defined by the Division. The Division will specify the
				requirements for certification. For a swine feeding operation that handles dry
				manure, the NMP must be developed by a person trained in the subject by an
				academic or trade organization; it should include emergency response planning
				and a closure plan for abandonment of any facility used for the treatment or
				storage of animal waste. The requirements for submittal and approval of the NMP
				are specified in the following paragraphs.
(n) "Owner" means any person owning any
				system for waste treatment and disposal at a swine feeding operation. "Owner or
				operator" means any person who owns, leases, controls, or supervises a swine
				feeding operation. For the purpose of paragraph
				391-3-6-.20(4) of
				these rules, if a person intends to operate a swine feeding operation with
				another entity that owns the swine, directs the manner in which the swine will
				be housed, or controls the inputs or the other material aspects of the
				operation, this person shall be the operator and the owner shall be the entity
				that owns the swine, directs the manner in which the swine will be housed, or
				controls the inputs or the other material aspects of the operation.
(o) "Permit" means a permit applied for and
				issued in accordance with the terms and conditions for paragraphs
				391-3-6-.06, Waste Treatment and
				Permit Requirements (individual NPDES permits), or
				391-3-6-.11, Land Disposal and
				Permit Requirements (non-NPDES individual land application system or "LAS"
				permit), or
				391-3-6-.15, Non-Storm Water General
				Permit Requirements (general NPDES permit), or
				391-3-6-.19, General Permit - Land
				Application System Requirements (non-NPDES general LAS permit), of this
				Chapter.
(p) "Removed from service"
				means:
1. The waste storage and disposal
				facilities no longer receive swine wastes and the facilities are not being
				serviced or maintained; or
2. The
				owner or operator informs the Division that the swine feeding operation has
				been closed and removed from service; or
3. The Division has ordered the facilities
				closed; or
4. An order has been
				issued by a court to cease operation and close the facilities.
(q) "Wetted area" or "disposal
				area" is the land area where swine waste is sprayed, spread, incorporated, or
				injected so that the waste can either condition the soil or fertilize crops or
				vegetation grown in the soil.
(r)
				"100-year, 24-hour storm event" is the maximum 24-hour precipitation event
				expressed in inches with a probable recurrence interval of once in 100 years,
				as defined by the National Weather Service of the United States Department of
				Commerce in Technical Paper Number 40, "Rainfall Frequency Atlas of the United
				States," May 1961, and subsequent amendments.
(s) "100-year flood plain" is the land
				inundated from a flood whose peak magnitude would be experienced on an average
				of once every 100 years. The 100-year flood has a 1% probability of occurring
				in one given year.
(t) "3000 AU"
				means three thousand animal units. Paragraph
				391-3-6-.20(2)(c)
				notwithstanding, the numbers of animals in any of the following categories are
				equivalent to 3000 AU:
1. 7,500 swine each
				weighing 55 pounds or more,
2.
				30,000 swine each weighing less than 55 pounds (immature swine or nursery
				pigs).