Texas Administrative Code › Title 30 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part 1 - TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 321 - CONTROL OF CERTAIN ACTIVITIES BY RULE › Subchapter B - CONCENTRATED ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS › Section 321.40 - Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) Land Application Requirements

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) The purpose of
				  this section is to describe the land application requirements that apply to
				  concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).
(b) The land application of manure, sludge,
				  or wastewater at agronomic rates and hydrologic needs shall not be considered
				  surface disposal and is not prohibited.
(c) Manure, sludge, or wastewater may be
				  applied to the areas in the 100-year flood plain at agronomic rates not to
				  exceed the hydrologic needs of the crop.
(d) Discharge of manure, sludge, or
				  wastewater from a land management unit (LMU) is prohibited and shall not cause
				  or contribute to a violation of surface water quality standards, contaminate
				  groundwater, or create a nuisance condition.
(e) Irrigation practices shall be managed so
				  as to minimize ponding or puddling of wastewater on the site, prevent tailwater
				  discharges to waters in the state, and prevent the occurrence of nuisance
				  conditions.
(f) Land application
				  shall not occur when the ground is frozen or saturated or during rainfall
				  events unless in accordance with §
										321.39(b)(3)
				  of this title (relating to Operational Requirements Applicable to Concentrated
				  Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)) or as approved by the commission.
(g) The CAFO operator shall not locate a new
				  LMU within the required well buffer zones identified in §
										321.38(b)
				  of this title (relating to Control Facility Design Requirements Applicable to
				  Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)), unless additional wellhead
				  protective measures are implemented that will prevent pollutants from entering
				  the well and contaminating groundwater. An exception to the full well buffer
				  zone for a private drinking water well or a water well used exclusively for
				  agricultural irrigation may be approved by the executive director if a licensed
				  Texas professional engineer or licensed Texas professional geoscientist
				  provides accurate documentation showing that additional wellhead protective
				  measures will be or have been implemented that will prevent pollutants from
				  entering the well and contaminating groundwater. Additional protective measures
				  may include a sanitary seal, annular seal, a steel sleeve, or surface
				  slab.
(h) Vegetative buffer strips
				  shall be maintained in accordance with Natural Resources Conservation Service
				  (NRCS) Practice Standard Code 393. The minimum buffer shall be no less than 100
				  feet of vegetation to be maintained between manure, sludge, or wastewater
				  application areas and water in the state. A buffer is not required for
				  wastewater irrigation when applied by low-pressure, low-profile center pivot
				  irrigation systems in areas of the state where the annual average rainfall is
				  less than 25 inches per year. Land application of manure, sludge, and
				  wastewater into surface water in the state is an unauthorized discharge and is
				  prohibited.
(i) CAFOs introducing
				  wastewater or chemicals to water wellheads for the purpose of irrigation shall
				  install backflow prevention devices in accordance with requirements contained
				  in 16 TAC Chapter 76 (relating to Water Well Drillers and Water Well Pump
				  Installers) and Chapter 290 of this title (relating to Public Drinking Water),
				  as appropriate.
(j) Nighttime
				  application of manure, sludge, or wastewater by a CAFO shall be allowed only in
				  areas with no occupied residence(s) within 1/4 mile from the outer boundary of
				  the actual area receiving manure, sludge, or wastewater application. In areas
				  with an occupied residence within 1/4 mile from the outer boundary of the
				  actual area receiving manure, sludge, or wastewater application, application
				  shall only be allowed from one hour after sunrise until one hour before sunset,
				  unless the current resident owner or lessee of such residences have agreed in
				  writing to specified nighttime applications.
(k) Nutrient requirement.
(1) Any land application of manure, sludge,
				  and wastewater shall not exceed the planned crop requirements. Land application
				  rates of manure, sludge, or wastewater shall be based on the total nutrient
				  concentration, on a dry weight basis, where applicable.
(2) Critical phosphorus level. Land
				  application of manure, sludge, or wastewater shall not exceed the crop removal
				  rate when results of the annual soil analysis for extractable phosphorus
				  indicate:
(A) a level greater than 200 parts
				  per million (ppm) for a particular LMU; or
(B) a level greater than 350 ppm for an LMU
				  where the average annual rainfall is 25 inches or less and erosion control is
				  adequate to keep erosion at the soil loss tolerance (T) or less and the closest
				  edge of the field is more than one mile from a named stream; or
(C) if ordered by the executive director to
				  do so in order to protect water in the state.
(3) Dairy CAFOs located in a major
				  sole-source impairment zone shall develop a nutrient utilization plan (NUP)
				  when the annual soil analysis for extractable phosphorus in zone 1 (0 - 6-inch
				  incorporated; 0 - 2 or 2 - 6-inch if not incorporated) depth in an LMU is
				  greater than 200 ppm. State-only CAFOs shall develop a NUP when the annual soil
				  analysis for an LMU indicates the critical phosphorus levels in paragraph (2)
				  of this subsection have been exceeded. A nutrient management plan, based on
				  crop removal certified as meeting the NRCS Practice Standard Code 590 is
				  equivalent to the requirements for a NUP.
(A)
				  If an operator is required to develop a NUP, the operator shall cease land
				  application of manure, sludge, or wastewater to the affected area and may
				  resume only after a NUP is implemented.
(B) The NUP must be developed and certified
				  by:
(i) an employee of the NRCS;
(ii) a nutrient management specialist
				  certified by the NRCS;
(iii) the
				  Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board;
(iv) Texas AgriLife Extension
				  Service;
(v) an agronomist or soil
				  scientist on full-time staff at an accredited university located in the State
				  of Texas;
(vi) a Certified
				  Professional Agronomist certified through the certification program of the
				  American Society of Agronomy;
(vii)
				  a Certified Professional Soil Scientist certified through the certification
				  program of the Soil Science Society of America; or
(viii) a licensed geoscientist-soil scientist
				  in Texas after approval by the executive director based on a determination by
				  the executive director that another person or entity identified in this
				  subparagraph cannot develop the plan in a timely manner.
(C) After a NUP is implemented, the operator
				  shall land apply in accordance with the NUP until soil phosphorus is reduced
				  below the critical phosphorus level. Thereafter, the operator of a dairy CAFO
				  located in a major sole-source impairment zone shall implement the requirements
				  of the nutrient management plan certified in accordance with §
												321.36(c)
				  of this title (relating to Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System General
				  Requirements for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)) and the
				  operator of other state-only CAFOs must follow the requirements in this
				  section.
(D) Land application under
				  the terms of the NUP may begin 30 days after the plan is filed with the
				  executive director, unless before that time the executive director has returned
				  the plan for failure to comply with all the requirements of this
				  subsection.