Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 567 - Environmental Protection Commission › Title VIII - Solid Waste Management and Disposal › Chapter 105 - Organic Materials Composting Facilities › Rule 567-105.6 - Specific Requirements for Composting of Dead Farm Animals

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
Operators of dead farm animal composting facilities are
				  encouraged to be trained, tested, and certified by a department-approved
				  certification program upon approval of such a program by the department. A
				  facility that composts dead farm animals is exempt from permitting if the
				  following operating requirements are met and the facility is in compliance with
				  105.3(455B,455D). Businesses or individuals that are neither the owner nor
				  operator of any of the sites where dead farm animals are generated and that
				  want to compost dead farm animals must obtain a permit in accordance with
				  567-1058.
				  (455B,455D).
(1) Before commencing
				operation, the operator is encouraged to notify the department field office
				with jurisdiction over the facility. The department may provide general
				assistance, such as locating bulking agents and providing advice in regard to
				siting considerations such as pad location, sizing and design, to facilities
				notifying the department and requesting assistance.
(2) Farm animals known or suspected to have
				died from an infectious disease that can be spread by scavengers or insects or
				that died from a reportable disease shall be disposed of in accordance with the
				requirements of the Iowa department of agriculture and land stewardship and the
				department.
(3) Transportation
				vehicles shall be constructed to prevent the release of mortality contaminated
				materials under normal operating conditions. The most direct haul route that
				avoids biosecurity risks shall be utilized.
(4) The composting facility shall be designed
				to accommodate at least the average annual death loss for all sites using the
				composting facility. Facility design shall also take into account space
				requirements for managing raw materials (e.g., additional bedding and bulking
				agents needed for mortality composting) and finished compost.
(5) Animal mortalities from a catastrophic
				event, such as a fire or electrical outage, shall not be composted until the
				department field office is contacted and arrangements are approved for the
				appropriate treatment or disposal of the animals. The facility shall contact
				the department field office with jurisdiction over the facility as soon as
				possible after such a catastrophic event occurs to receive approval of the
				disposal option.
(6) Dead farm
				animals shall be incorporated into the composting process within 24 hours of
				death. An adequate base layer (from 12 to 24 inches thick, depending on the
				size and number of dead farm animals) with 6 to 12 inches of bulking agent
				between carcasses and an additional 12 inches of cover material shall be
				maintained around carcasses at all times to control mortality leachate and
				odors and to prevent access by scavenging domestic and wild animals.
(7) Dead farm animals shall not be removed
				from composting until all soft tissue is fully decomposed.
(8) Compost (including bones that have not
				fully decomposed) shall be applied to cropland in a manner that minimizes the
				runoff into a water of the state. Application of the compost to lands other
				than cropland shall require prior approval by the department.