Code of Maryland Regulations › Title 15 - MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE › Subtitle 20 - SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION › Chapter 15.20.08 - Content and Criteria for a Nutrient Management Plan Developed for an Agricultural Operation › Section 15.20.08.03 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 14, July 12, 2024
A. In this chapter,
				the following terms have the meaning indicated.
B. Terms Defined.
(1) "Account identification number" means the
				unique identifier used by the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation
				to identify a unit of land.
(2)
				"Agricultural operation" means a business or activity that:
(a) Tills, crops, keeps, pastures, or
				produces an agricultural product, including livestock, poultry, plants, trees,
				sod, food, feed, or fiber by in-ground, out-of-ground, container, or other
				culture; and
(b) Has a gross annual
				income of $2,500 or more, or has eight or more animal units.
(3) "Animal unit" means the unit
				of measure equivalent to 1,000 pounds of live animal weight.
(4) "Average Soil Phosphorus Fertility Index
				Value" or "Average Soil P FIV" means a value:
(a) Determined for an agricultural operation
				by averaging the P FIV of all fields or management units within the operation
				that have a P FIV greater than 150 (calculated by adding together the P FIV of
				each field or management unit within the operation that has a P FIV greater
				than 150 and dividing this sum by number of any such fields or management
				units); and
(b) Established not
				later than June 30, 2016, using soil tests not more than 3 years
				old
(5) "Best management
				practice" means a conservation or pollution control practice that manages soil,
				nutrient losses, or other potential pollutant sources to:
(a) Minimize nutrient runoff or pollution of
				water resources; or
(b) Improve
				agricultural production and management.
(6) "Bioavailable" means a nutrient supply
				that is either currently, or likely to be, available to a plant or
				crop.
(7) "Biosolids" means any
				thickened liquid, suspended or settled solid, or dried residue extracted from
				sewage at a sewage treatment plant, including domestic sewage, that:
(a) Contains recognized plant nutrients or
				liquid byproducts that meet federal and State regulations for beneficial use by
				land application or other methods; and
(b) Is regulated as sewage sludge, pursuant
				to Environment Article, §
											9-201 et seq., Annotated
				Code of Maryland.
(8)
				"Certified farm operator" means an individual certified by the Department under
				this subtitle to prepare a nutrient management plan solely for agricultural
				land that the individual:
(a) Owns;
(b) Operates; or
(c) Has a legal interest in.
(9) "Certified nutrient management
				consultant" or "consultant" means an individual certified by the Department
				under this subtitle to prepare a nutrient management plan.
(10) Chemical Fertilizer.
(a) "Chemical fertilizer" means a
				manufactured or blended nutrient source, usually in granular or liquid form,
				containing a guaranteed analysis of primary nutrients.
(b) "Chemical fertilizer" does not include a
				product blended from all natural organic fertilizer sources.
(11) "Controlled release
				fertilizer" means a type of fertilizer that releases nutrients over time and
				which may be categorized as follows:
(a)
				Natural organics;
(b) Organic,
				synthetic isobutylidene diurea and urea fomaldehyde;
(c) Sulfur-coated synthetic organic or
				inorganic fertilizers; and
(d)
				Inorganic, resin-coated fertilizers.
(12) "Cover crop" means a crop including, but
				not limited to, cereal grains, that is planted following the harvest of summer
				crops for the purpose of:
(a) Seasonal
				protection of soil;
(b)
				Assimilation of residual nitrogen left from a previous crop; and
(c) Continued mineralization of
				nitrogen.
(13) "Crop or
				plant nutrient needs" means the primary nutrient requirements of a crop,
				usually determined as pounds of total nitrogen (N), available phosphate
				(P2O5), or soluble potash
				(K2O), required for production of a crop yield unit,
				such as a bushel of corn.
(14)
				"Department" means the Maryland Department of Agriculture or its
				designee.
(15) "Environmental risk
				assessment for out-of-ground production" means a method used to evaluate risk
				from stormwater and runoff management and water application (irrigation)
				methods that is acceptable to the Department, as described in the Maryland
				Nutrient Management Manual, Section II-D.
(16) "Expected crop yield" means a realistic
				crop yield for the agricultural operation determined by yield records or soil
				productivity information.
(17)
				"Fertility index value (FIV)" means an index developed by the University of
				Maryland that is:
(a) Used to describe the
				relative availability of nutrients to a plant or crop; and
(b) Described in the Maryland Nutrient
				Management Manual, Section II-B.
(18) "Fertilizer" means a substance
				containing a recognized primary plant nutrient used for its plant nutrient
				content and designed for use in promoting plant growth.
(19) "Field identification number" means a
				number or unique identifier used by an agricultural operator to distinguish or
				pinpoint the location of a field or management unit on a farm.
(20) "Liming" means the application of
				materials containing the carbonates, oxides, or hydroxides of calcium or
				magnesium in a condition, and in a quantity, adequate to manage soil
				acidity.
(21) "Management unit"
				means an area sharing common characteristics, including soil type, nutrient
				content, and plant type or crop produced, so that nutrients can be recommended
				and managed in a uniform and consistent manner.
(22) "Manure management" means operations and
				conditions specific to an agricultural operation that has animals, or uses
				animal manure or waste nutrients from animal production. The purpose of manure
				management in nutrient management planning is to improve efficiency and
				effectiveness of nutrient utilization and to minimize the potential for
				nutrient loss from the management of animals or their manure and associated
				waste nutrients. Guidelines for manure management are described in the Maryland
				Nutrient Management Manual, Section III-C.
(23) "Mineralization" means the process that
				converts unavailable organic forms of nutrient elements to an available
				inorganic state as a result of bacterial decomposition.
(24) "Natural organic fertilizer" means a
				fertilizer derived from plant or animal products, including animal manure,
				biosolids, green manure, compost, or plant materials, or other residuals used
				as a source of primary nutrients, which:
(a)
				Typically are not mixed with synthetic materials; or
(b) Are not changed in any physical or
				chemical manner from their initial state, except by means of cooking, chopping,
				composting, drying, grinding, shredding, or pelleting.
(25) "Nutrient application rate" means the
				quantity of primary nutrients, including total nitrogen (N), available
				phosphate (P2O5), or soluble
				potash (K2O), recommended by a certified consultant to:
(a) Supply crop or plant nutrient needs;
				and
(b) Achieve realistic yield or
				plant production goals, as defined by this chapter.
(26) "Nutrient content" means the percentage
				of any primary nutrients as total nitrogen (N), available phosphate
				(P2O5), or soluble potash
				(K2O) in any type or source of fertilizer.
(27) "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 to minimize nutrient
				loss or runoff and to maintain the productivity of soil when growing
				agricultural products.
(28)
				"Operator" means a person who owns or manages an agricultural
				operation.
(29) "Out-of-ground or
				container production" means the production of plants whose roots are not
				actually growing in the soil column.
(30) "Person" means the State, any county,
				municipal corporation, or other political subdivision of the State, or any of
				their units, or an individual, receiver, trustee, guardian, executor,
				administrator, fiduciary, or representative of any kind, or any partnership,
				firm, association, public or private corporation, or any other entity, unless
				otherwise provided.
(31)
				"Phosphorus Management Tool" means the new procedure developed by the
				University of Maryland approved by the Department, and described in the
				Maryland Nutrient Management Manual, Section II-C, that:
(a) Uses characteristics of soils, landforms,
				and management practices to identify potential risk of phosphorus losses from
				soils to waters; and
(b) Shall be
				phased-in between 2016 and not later than 2024, ultimately replacing the
				Phosphorus Site Index.
(32) "Phosphorus Site
				Index" means the original procedure developed by the University of Maryland,
				approved by the Department, and described in the Maryland Nutrient Management
				Manual, Section II-C, that uses characteristics of soils, landforms, and
				management practices to identify potential risk of phosphorus losses from soils
				to waters.
(33) "Phosphorus
				Transition Management Phase I" means the first of two management phases that
				farms with a soil P FIV of 150 or greater shall employ when transitioning from
				use of the Phosphorus Site Index to the Phosphorus Management Tool as a means
				to determine the application of additional phosphorus that:
(a) Consists of three risk categories
				determined by a calculation of the Phosphorus Management Tool; and
(b) Includes a schedule for implementation
				based on the average soil P FIV for the operation.
(34) "Phosphorus Transition Management Phase
				II" means the second of two management phases that farms with a soil P FIV of
				150 or greater shall employ when transitioning from the use of the Phosphorus
				Site Index to the Phosphorus Management Tool as a means to determine the
				application of additional phosphorus that:
(a)
				Consists of three risk categories determined by a calculation of the Phosphorus
				Management Tool; and
(b) Includes a
				schedule for implementation based on the average soil P FIV for the
				operation.
(35) "Plant
				production goal" means a statement of the estimated length of time that plants
				will be grown, and appropriate measure of expected plant size, such as height
				or diameter.
(36) "Primary
				nutrients" means a plant food that is essential for normal plant growth, and
				includes total nitrogen (N), available phosphate
				(P2O5), or soluble potash
				(K2O).
(37)
				"Residual nutrients" means the level of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium
				available in the soil from previous nutrient sources or unharvested plants or
				plant parts, or the baseline nutrient levels in the soil.
(38) "Soil leaching potential" means the
				potential for a given soil to be subject to nitrate and soluble chemical
				leaching below the root zone.
(39)
				"Soil pH level" means the relative acidity or alkalinity of a soil and refers
				to the hydrogen ion concentration in the soil solution.
(40) "Substrate" means organic or inorganic
				material, often bark, peat, and sand, used as media components in a container
				to support the plant and contain the root system.
(41) "Tier A operations" means those farms
				that have an average soil P FIV of 150 or greater but less than 300.
(42) "Tier B operations" means those farms
				that have an average soil P FIV of 300 or greater but less than 450.
(43) "Tier C operations" means those farms
				that have an average soil P FIV of 450 or greater
(44) "Volatilization" means a process in
				which nitrogen losses to the atmosphere occur as ammonia.
(45) "Watershed code" means the code used by
				the State to identify a hydrologic unit area.
(46) Waters.
(a) "Waters" means surface water or ground
				water, including:
(i) That part of the
				Atlantic Ocean within the boundaries of the State;
(ii) The Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries;
				and
(iii) All ponds, streams,
				natural wetlands, and drainage ditches or public drainage systems.
(b) "Waters" do not include
				irrigation and treatment ditches installed to hold, transform, treat, or
				transfer water or wastewater, if a separation is maintained between the ditches
				and waters, as defined in §B(38)(a) of this regulation, at all
				times.