Code of Maryland Regulations › Title 15 - MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE › Subtitle 20 - SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION › Chapter 15.20.05 - Manure Transportation Project › Section 15.20.05.02 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 14, July 12, 2024
A. In this chapter,
				the following terms have the meanings indicated.
B. Terms Defined.
(1) 'Alternative use" means using poultry
				manure or other animal manure in environmentally acceptable ways, as determined
				by the Department, other than by direct land application in an unprocessed
				form.
(2) 'Alternative use
				operation " means a person or entity that uses or processes poultry or
				livestock manure in environmentally acceptable ways, as determined by the
				Department, other than by direct land application in an unprocessed
				form.
(3) "Commercial poultry
				producer" means an entity that contracts with a farmer to raise poultry for the
				producer on property owned or leased by the farmer.
(4) "Cost-share" means a grant from the
				Department for the purpose of handling and transporting manure from a farm in
				any area of the State that the Department determines is subject to phosphorus
				overenrichment.
(5) "Department"
				means the Maryland Department of Agriculture.
(6) "Eligible cost" means a cost that the
				Department determines is necessary for the transport and handling of
				manure.
(7) "Eligible receiving
				operation " means a person who land-applies manure and:
(a) Receives manure from an eligible sending
				operation;
(b) Has fields
				containing soils that are not phosphorus overenriched; and
(c) Has a certified nutrient management plan
				for the operation that allows manure to be applied as a source of primary
				nutrients to these fields.
(8) "Eligible sending operation " means a
				person who:
(a) Either is:
(i) A poultry grower under contract with a
				commercial poultry producer participating in the Project; or
(ii) A person who raises or manages
				livestock; and
(b) Has
				land identified as being phosphorus overenriched or cannot use for crop
				production all of the generated manure because the person has:
(i) No cropland; or
(ii) An insufficient amount of cropland near
				the production site to apply the manure according to a nutrient management
				plan.
(9)
				"Fast Track Process " means an expedited process by which an eligible person
				applies for cost-share to transport manure under certain conditions including,
				but not limited to, the following:
(a) All
				receiving fields have soil phosphorus FIV less than 101 (or an equivalent
				value); and
(b) Manure is applied
				only to certain crops, at certain rates and times, consistent with the Maryland
				Nutrient Management Manual, Section I-D, or as determined by the Department in
				consultation with the University of Maryland Extension.
(10) "Fertility index value" or "FIV" means
				an index used to describe the relative availability of a nutrient to a plant or
				crop.
(11) "Livestock manure" means
				manure generated from farm animals other than broiler chickens raised under
				contract for a commercial poultry producer.
(12) "Manure" means the fecal and urinary
				excretion of poultry and livestock, including poultry litter and materials used
				as bedding.
(13) "Manure broker" or
				"broker" means a person approved by the Department who moves, arranges, or
				otherwise acts as the intermediary in the movement of manure from an eligible
				sending operation to:
(a) An eligible
				receiving operation;
(b) A person
				who can utilize manure for an alternative use; or
(c) A person outside the Chesapeake Bay
				watershed pursuant to the Poultry Manure Rail Export Process.
(14) "Nutrient management plan"
				means a plan prepared by a certified nutrient management consultant or
				certified farm operator to manage the amount, placement, timing, and
				application of animal manure, fertilizer, biosolids, or other plant nutrients
				in order to:
(a) Minimize nutrient loss or
				runoff; and
(b) Maintain the
				productivity of soil when growing agricultural products.
(15) "Phosphorus overenriched soil" means
				soil with a phosphorus FIV value of 150 or greater (or an equivalent test
				result value for phosphorus) and poses a water quality risk as determined by
				the Department.
(16) "Poultry
				grower" means a person who:
(a) Is under
				contract with a commercial poultry producer; and
(b) Generates manure from poultry.
(17) "Poultry manure " means
				manure generated by a poultry grower under contract with a commercial poultry
				producer.
(18) "Primary nutrients"
				means a plant food that is essential for normal plant growth and includes
				nitrogen (N), available phosphate
				(P2O5), or soluble potash
				(K2).
(19)
				"Producer" means a person who generates manure from animal
				production.
(20) "Production site"
				means the portion of the poultry grower's or livestock producer's land
				encompassing the operation's manure generation and storage
				facilities.
(21) "Project" means
				the Manure Transportation Project Program.
(22) "Stackable manure " or "stacked manure "
				means manure having less than an average of 60 percent moisture and having
				physical properties to be unloaded and arranged into a stable pile.
(23) "Standard Process " means a process by
				which an eligible person applies for cost-share to transport manure under
				certain conditions including, but not limited to, the following:
(a) All receiving fields have soil phosphorus
				FIV less than 150 (or an equivalent value);
(b) The manure is applied according to a
				certified nutrient management plan excepting, however, fields having phosphorus
				FIV range from 101 to 149 (or equivalent values), for which the operator must
				follow manure recommendations using phosphorus as a limiting factor;
				and
(c) The applicant submits to
				the Department the receiving operation's current certified nutrient management
				plan so that the Department can verify the manure recommendations and soil
				phosphorus levels.