South Carolina Code of Regulations › Chapter 61 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL › Subchapter 61-43 - STANDARDS FOR THE PERMITTING OF AGRICULTURAL ANIMAL FACILITIES › Part 100 - SWINE FACILITIES › Section 61-43.100.90 - General Requirements for Swine Manure Lagoons, Treatment Systems, and Swine Manure Storage Ponds

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 6, June 28, 2024
A. The
				lagoon, treatment system, or manure storage pond shall be designed by a
				professional engineer or an NRCS engineer and the construction shall be
				certified by the design engineer or professional engineer licensed in S.C. It
				is a violation of this regulation and the South Carolina Pollution Control Act
				for the owner or operator of the facility to make modifications or physical
				changes to the lagoon, treatment system, or manure storage pond without the
				prior approval of the Department and supervision of NRCS or a professional
				engineer. Plans and specifications for lagoon, treatment system, or manure
				storage pond modifications shall be designed and certified by NRCS or a
				professional engineer and submitted to the Department for approval prior to the
				modification.
B. Swine manure
				lagoons and manure storage ponds shall be designed at a minimum to NRCS-CPS.
				The lagoon or manure storage pond shall be designed to provide a minimum
				storage capacity for manure, wastewater, normal precipitation less evaporation,
				normal runoff, and residual solids accumulation for the twenty-five (25) year -
				twenty-four (24) hour storm event (precipitation and associated runoff) and at
				least one and one half (1 1/2) feet of freeboard. New X-large swine facilities
				shall be designed to provide storage capacity for all the above-mentioned
				items, including the fifty (50) year - twenty-four (24) hour storm event
				(precipitation and associated runoff) and at least 2 feet of
				freeboard.
C. All lagoons and
				storage ponds constructed or expanded after the date of this regulation shall
				be provided with a geomembrane liner, designed with an initial specific
				discharge rate of less than 0.0156 feet/day in order to protect groundwater
				quality. Lagoons and manure storage ponds at X-large swine facilities within
				delineated source water protection areas or vulnerable recharge areas, as
				determined by the Department, shall be lined with a geomembrane liner such that
				the vertical hydraulic conductivity does not exceed 5 x
				10-7 cm/sec. Geomembrane liners, at a minimum, shall
				meet NRCS-CPS. For existing lagoons or manure storage ponds lined using only
				soils with low permeability rates (e.g., clay), the Department shall require
				appropriate documentation to demonstrate that the computed soil permeability of
				the liner is sufficient to prevent seepage greater than the initial specific
				discharge rate. Appropriate certification shall be provided by the preparer of
				the Animal Facility Management Plan that the NRCS-CPS for lining lagoons and/or
				manure storage ponds with soils have been met.
D. Lagoons and manure storage ponds at swine
				facilities shall not exceed one million cubic feet of total volume, unless the
				lagoon or manure storage pond implements a design to control the discharge from
				a failed lagoon, treatment system, or manure storage pond so that it never
				enters Waters of the State.
E.
				Large swine facilities are prohibited from utilizing open anaerobic lagoons or
				manure storage ponds. These facilities shall utilize best available technology
				that is economically achievable for the manure handling, treatment, storage,
				and utilization.
F. X-Large swine
				facilities are prohibited from utilizing open lagoons or manure storage ponds.
				These facilities shall utilize best available technology for the manure
				handling, treatment, storage, and utilization. Lagoons and manure storage ponds
				utilized at X-large swine facilities shall be designed with airtight covers.
				Air pollution control devices utilizing the Best Available Technology shall be
				installed on all lagoon cover vents and openings to remove ammonia, hydrogen
				sulfide, methane, formaldehyde, and any other organic and inorganic air
				pollutants, which may be required by the Department. Such air pollution control
				devices shall meet all the requirements of the Department and appropriate air
				quality permits shall be obtained. "Best Available Technology" means, for the
				air emissions purpose of this regulation, the rate of emissions which reflects
				the most stringent emissions limitations required by any State regulation or
				permit, existing at the time the application is made, for all pollutants
				emitted from this source category; or, the most stringent emissions limit
				achieved in actual practice, whichever is more stringent.
G. If seepage results in either an adverse
				impact to groundwater or a significant adverse trend in groundwater quality
				occurs, as determined by the Department, the lagoon or manure storage pond
				shall be repaired at the owner's or operator's expense. Assessment and/or
				additional monitoring (more wells, additional constituents, and/or increased
				sampling frequency) may be required by the Department to determine the extent
				of the seepage. The repairs and/or assessment shall be completed in accordance
				with an implementation schedule approved by the Department. The Department may
				require groundwater corrective action.
H. Manure and other swine by-products shall
				not be placed directly in or allowed to come into contact with groundwater
				and/or surface water. The minimum separation distance between the lowest point
				of the lagoon and/or manure storage pond and the seasonal high water table
				beneath the lagoon and/or manure storage pond is 2 feet. If a geomembrane liner
				is installed, then the minimum separation distance is 1 foot from the seasonal
				high water table. Designs that include controlled drainage for water table
				adjustment shall be evaluated by the Department on a case-by-case basis, and
				may include additional monitoring and groundwater control requirements. If a
				design is proposed for water table adjustment, the design shall not impact
				wetlands. Groundwater monitoring wells may be required to be installed and
				monitored at a frequency as given in the permit for the facility in situations
				where a liner is used to allow the lowest point of a lagoon to be less than 2
				feet to the seasonal high water table.
I. Owners of lagoons and manure storage ponds
				at large and X-large swine facilities shall be required to install at least one
				(1) up-gradient and two (2) down-gradient monitoring wells at a depth which the
				Department considers appropriate around the lagoon or series of lagoons in
				order to monitor groundwater quality. For small swine facilities, the
				Department may require monitoring wells upon Department review of the submittal
				package.
J. A groundwater
				monitoring plan shall be submitted with the permit application to the
				Department. All applicable State certification requirements regarding well
				installation, laboratory analyses, and report preparation shall be met.
				Groundwater monitoring wells shall be sampled at least once annually by
				qualified personnel, at the expense of the permittee. Monitoring wells at
				X-large swine facilities must be sampled at least quarterly, unless more
				frequent sampling is specified in the permit. The results shall be submitted to
				the Department in accordance with the specified permit requirements.
				Groundwater monitoring results shall be maintained by the producer for eight
				(8) years. The Department may conduct routine and random visits to the swine
				facility to sample the monitoring wells.
K. The monitoring wells shall be properly
				installed and sampled prior to use of the lagoon or manure storage pond. All
				monitoring wells shall be sampled in accordance with the parameters identified
				in the permit such that a background concentration level can be
				established.
L. Before the
				construction of a lagoon and/or a manure storage pond, the owner or operator
				shall remove all under-drains that exist from previous agricultural operations
				that are under the lagoon or manure storage pond and/or within 25 feet of the
				outside toe of the proposed lagoon or manure storage pond dike. This
				requirement does not include under-drains that are approved as a part of a
				design that includes controlled drainage for water table adjustment.
M. Lagoons and manure storage ponds at
				X-large swine facilities shall install automated lagoon level monitoring
				devices.
N. Proper water levels in
				lagoons and manure storage ponds, as per plans and specifications, shall be
				maintained at all times by the permittee. The Department may require specific
				lagoon or manure storage pond volume requirements in permits. An approved
				marker shall be installed to measure waste levels.
O. If a lagoon, treatment system, or manure
				storage pond, or all of these, breaches or fails, the owner or operator of the
				swine facility shall immediately notify the Department, the appropriate local
				government officials, and the owners or operators of any potable surface water
				treatment plant located downstream from the swine facility that could
				reasonably be expected to be adversely impacted.
P. Lagoons, treatment systems, and manure
				storage ponds shall be completely enclosed with an acceptable fence, unless a
				fence waiver is obtained from the Department.
Q. Lagoons and manure storage ponds shall
				have at least four (4) warning signs posted in the four (4) cardinal directions
				around the perimeter of the structure. These signs must read, "Warning - Deep
				and Polluted Water".
R. Vegetation
				on the dikes and around the lagoon or manure storage pond should be kept below
				a maximum height of 18 inches. Trees or deeply rooted plants shall be prevented
				from growing on the dikes or within 25 feet of the outside toe of the dikes of
				the lagoon, treatment systems, or manure storage pond. Existing trees on the
				dikes shall be evaluated by NRCS staff or a dam engineer licensed in South
				Carolina to determine if they should be removed or remain.
S. Livestock or other animals that could
				cause erosion or damage to the dikes of the lagoon or manure storage pond shall
				not be allowed to enter the lagoon or manure storage pond, or graze on the dike
				or within 25 feet of the outside toe of the dike.
T. The Department shall require existing
				facilities, regardless of size, with a history of manure handling, treatment,
				and disposal problems related to a lagoon, to phase out the existing lagoon and
				incorporate new technology.