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 200 - ANIMAL FACILITIES (OTHER THAN SWINE) › Section 61-43.200.90 - General Requirements for Animal Manure Lagoons, Treatment Systems, and Animal 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 these regulations 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. Animal 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 for manure, wastewater, normal precipitation less evaporation, normal
				runoff, residual solids accumulation, capacity for 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 shall be
				provided with a liner, designed with an initial specific discharge rate of less
				than 0.0156 feet/day, in order to protect groundwater quality. When lagoons or
				manure storage ponds are lined only using soils with low permeability rates
				(e.g., clay), the Department shall require appropriate documentation to
				demonstrate that the computed soil permeability rates of the liner are
				sufficiently low or certification from the preparer of the Animal Facility
				Management Plan that the NRCS design standards for lining lagoons and/or manure
				storage ponds with soils have been met. When geomembrane liners are utilized,
				they shall be designed, at a minimum, to meet NRCS-CPS.
D. 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 further assess 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.
E. Manure 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 or manure storage
				pond and the seasonal high water table beneath the lagoon or manure storage
				pond is 2 feet. If a geomembrane liner is installed, 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.
F. Monitoring wells may be required by the
				Department on a case-by-case basis upon Department review of the submittal
				package.
G. 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. Each
				groundwater monitoring well installed shall be permitted and shall be sampled
				at least once annually by qualified personnel at the expense of the permittee.
				The results shall be submitted to the Department in accordance with the
				specified permit requirements. Groundwater Sampling results shall be maintained
				by the producer for eight (8) years. The Department may conduct routine and
				random visits to the animal facility to sample the monitoring wells.
H. Prior to operation 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.
I. 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
				designs that include controlled drainage for water table adjustment.
J. 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 water levels.
K. If a lagoon, treatment system, or manure
				storage pond, all of these, breaches or fails, the owner or operator of the
				animal 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 animal facility that could
				reasonably be expected to be adversely impacted.
L. Lagoons, treatment systems, and manure
				storage ponds shall be completely enclosed with an acceptable fence, unless a
				fence waiver is obtained from the Department.
M. 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".
N. Vegetation
				on the dikes and around the lagoon, treatment system, 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 system, 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.
O. Livestock or other
				animals that could cause erosion or damage to the dikes of the lagoon,
				treatment system, or manure storage pond shall not be allowed to enter the
				lagoon, treatment system, or manure storage pond, or graze on the dike or
				within 25 feet of the outside toe of the dike.
P. 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.