Pennsylvania Code › Title 7 - AGRICULTURE › Part V - Bureau of Plant Industry › Chapter 130e - COMMERCIAL MANURE HAULER AND BROKER CERTIFICATION › Subchapter B - CERTIFICATION › COMMERCIAL MANURE HAULERS-LEVEL 3 › Section 130e.41 - Determination of competence

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a)
Commercial manure hauler Level 3 certification
. Determination
					 of competence for a Level 3 commercial manure hauler shall be based on the
					 successful completion of a Department-developed or approved certification
					 course and a written examination meeting the requirements in this section. Both
					 the certification course and the written examination shall be administered in a
					 classroom setting. The certification course shall be completed prior to the
					 applicant taking the written examination. A person certified and in good
					 standing as a commercial nutrient management specialist or a public nutrient
					 management dual specialist under the Department's nutrient management
					 certification regulations in Chapter 130b (relating to nutrient management
					 certification), meets the requirements to be certified as a Level 3 commercial
					 manure hauler.
(b)
Certification course
. The certification course must, at a
					 minimum, address the applicant's understanding, competence and proficiency with
					 regard to the following topics:
(1) Laws and
					 regulations pertaining to manure application, including pertinent provisions
					 Act 38 of 2005 and its attendant regulations in 25 Pa. Code Chapter 83,
					 Subchapter D (relating to nutrient management), The Clean Streams Law and
					 applicable regulations in 25 Pa. Code Chapter 102 (related to erosion and
					 sedimentation control), the
Manure Management Manual
and
					 protection of agricultural operations from nuisance suits and ordinances
					 provisions of the act of June 10, 1982 (P. L. 454, No. 133) (3 P. S. §
													§
													951-957).
(2) Basic nutrient management and manure
					 management protocols and requirements and soil fertility and
					 management.
(3) Courses presenting
					 information necessary for understanding and properly reading and applying the
					 provisions of a nutrient management plan and nutrient balance sheet. The
					 courses must cover manure handling and testing, land application information,
					 manure application setback requirements and maps contained in nutrient balance
					 sheets and nutrient management plans. The courses must include examples and
					 hands on experience in reading, interpreting and properly applying the
					 provisions of a nutrient management plan and nutrient balance sheet.
(4) BMPs with respect to manure hauling and
					 land application of manure, such as the minimum legal setback requirements from
					 water sources, including wells, groundwater, surface waters, wetlands, public
					 water supplies, perennial and intermittent streams and property lines,
					 controlling nutrient runoff, installing riparian buffers, updating and
					 following erosion and sedimentation control plans, seasonal manure application
					 concerns and incorporation and no-till farming techniques.
(5) Recordkeeping requirements necessary to
					 meet the statutory and regulatory requirements of Act 38 of 2005.
(6) The following matters pertaining to
					 manure transport and land application:
(i)
					 Courses covering the filing requirements in the act.
(ii) Community relation and public image
					 awareness, to encourage dialogue and promote cooperation.
(iii) Basic awareness of safety issues
					 related to manure management, manure handling and biosecurity, as well as,
					 transport safety procedures and highway and equipment safety.
(iv) Understanding emergency action
					 plans.
(v) Proper calibration of
					 application rates and techniques and requirements for calibrating all types of
					 application equipment normally utilized to land apply manure.
(vi) Understanding of land application
					 issues, such as, incorporation, compaction and winter application.
(vii) Understanding the proper placement of
					 stacking areas and temporary storage of manure, such as set back requirements,
					 placement and covering requirements and short and long term stacking
					 requirements.