Pennsylvania Code › Title 25 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Part I - Department of Environmental Protection › Subpart C - Protection of Natural Resources › Article I - Land Resources › Chapter 83 - STATE CONSERVATION COMMISSION › Subchapter D - NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT › GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 83.201 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this
							 subchapter, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
							 otherwise:
AEU-Animal equivalent unit
-One
							 thousand pounds live weight of livestock or poultry animals, on an annualized
							 basis, regardless of the actual number of individual animals comprising the
							 unit.
AEU per acre
-An animal equivalent
							 unit per acre of cropland or acre of land suitable for application of animal
							 manure.
Act
-3 Pa.C.S. §§ 501-522
							 (relating to nutrient management and odor management).
Act 49
-Commercial Manure Hauler and
							 Broker Certification Act (3 P. S. §§
														2010.1-2010.12).
Agent
-An entity delegated Commission
							 powers and duties under the authority of section 4(3) of the Conservation
							 District Law (3 P. S. §
														852(3)), including a
							 partnership, association, corporation, municipality, municipal authority,
							 political subdivision of this Commonwealth and an agency, department,
							 commission or authority of the Commonwealth.
Agricultural erosion and sediment control
							 plan
-A site-specific plan identifying BMPs to minimize accelerated
							 erosion and sedimentation from agricultural runoff, required by Chapter 102
							 (relating to erosion and sediment control). The agricultural erosion and
							 sediment control components of a conservation plan may meet this requirement,
							 if allowed under Chapter 102.
Agricultural operations
-The
							 management and use of farming resources for the production of crops, livestock
							 or poultry.
Animal concentration areas
-
(i) Barnyards, feedlots, loafing areas,
						  exercise lots or other similar animal confinement areas that will not maintain
						  a growing crop, or where deposited manure nitrogen is in excess of crop
						  needs.
(ii) The term excludes areas
						  managed as pastures or other cropland.
(iii) The term excludes pasture access ways,
						  if they do not cause direct flow of nutrients to surface water or
						  groundwater.
Animal unit
-One thousand pounds live
							 weight of livestock or poultry animals, regardless of the actual number of
							 individual animals comprising the unit.
BMP-Best management practice
-A
							 practice or combination of practices determined by the Commission to be
							 effective and practicable (given technological, economic and institutional
							 considerations) to manage nutrients to protect surface water and groundwater
							 taking into account applicable nutrient requirements for crop
							 utilization.
Broker
-A person that is not working
							 for or under the control of an agricultural operation and that assumes
							 temporary control or ownership of manure from an NMP operation and arranges for
							 transport to and utilization at an importing operation or other
							 location.
Buffer
or
vegetated
							 buffer
-
(i) A permanent strip
						  of dense perennial vegetation established parallel to the contours of, and
						  perpendicular to, the dominant slope of the field.
(ii) There is no mechanical application of
						  manure within the buffer area.
(iii) The purposes include slowing water
						  runoff, enhancing water infiltration and minimizing the risk of any potential
						  nutrients from leaving the field and reaching surface waters.
CAO-Concentrated animal
							 operation
-Agricultural operations with eight or more animal equivalent
							 units where the animal density exceeds two AEUs per acre on an annualized
							 basis.
Commercial manure hauler
-A person
							 that transports or land-applies manure as a contract agent for an NMP operation
							 or a broker under the direction of the operation or broker.
Commission
-The State Conservation
							 Commission established by the Conservation District Law (3 P. S.
							 §§
														849-864).
Concentrated water flow
							 areas
-
(i) Natural or manmade
						  areas where stormwater runoff is channeled and conveyed directly to surface
						  water or groundwater.
(ii) The term
						  includes, but is not limited to, ditches, waterways, gullies and
						  swales.
Conservation district
-A county
							 conservation district established under the Conservation District Law.
Cooperative Extension
-The Penn State
							 Cooperative Extension.
Critical runoff problem
							 areas
-
(i) Nonvegetated
						  concentrated water flow areas directly discharging into surface water or
						  groundwater, and areas where runoff containing nutrients that were applied
						  after the growing season discharge directly into surface water or
						  groundwater.
(ii) The term includes
						  gullies and unprotected ditches.
Crop management unit
-The portion of
							 cropland, hayland and pasture, including a field, a portion of a field, or
							 group of fields, on an agricultural operation that has a unique management
							 history (same rotation and manure history), similar production capability, and
							 that will be managed uniformly as a distinct unit.
Emergency manure stacking
							 areas
-Unimproved areas that are authorized to be used for the storage
							 of solid manure to be applied to the land as plant nutrients, except that these
							 areas are only used as a contingency measure to address situations where the
							 approved manure handling practice as described in the plan is not able to
							 address the manure generated on the operation due to unforeseen
							 circumstances.
Farming resources
-The animals,
							 facilities and lands used for the production or raising of crops, livestock or
							 poultry. The lands are limited to those located at the animal facility which
							 are owned by the operator of the facility, and other owned, rented or leased
							 lands under the management control of the operator of the facility that are
							 used for the application, treatment or storage of manure generated at the
							 facility.
Fund
-The Nutrient Management Fund
							 established under section 512 of the act (relating to nutrient management
							 fund).
In-field stacking
-The practice of
							 stacking solid manure on unimproved cropland, hayland and pasture areas to be
							 applied to the land as plant nutrients.
Intermittent stream
-A body of water
							 flowing in a channel or bed composed primarily of substrates associated with
							 flowing water which, during periods of the year, is below the water table and
							 obtains its flow from both surface runoff and groundwater discharges.
Livestock
(i) Animals raised, stabled, fed or
						  maintained on an agricultural operation with the purpose of generating income
						  or providing work, recreation or transportation.
(ii) Examples include: dairy cows, beef
						  cattle, goats, sheep, swine and horses.
(iii) The term does not include aquatic
						  species.
Manure
(i) Animal excrement, including poultry
						  litter, which is produced at an agricultural operation.
(ii) The term includes materials such as
						  bedding, washwater and other materials which are commingled with that
						  excrement.
Manure group
-A portion of the manure
							 generated on the operation that is distinct due to factors including species,
							 handling practices, manure consistency, anticipated nutrient content or
							 application season.
Manure Management Manual
-The
							 guidance manual published by the Department of Environmental Protection that is
							 entitled
Manure Management Manual for Environmental
							 Protection
, including its supplements and amendments. The manual
							 describes approved manure management practices for all agricultural operations
							 as required by §
													91.36 (relating to pollution
							 control and prevention at agricultural operations).
Manure storage facility
-
(i) A permanent structure or facility, or
						  portion of a structure or facility, utilized for the primary purpose of
						  containing manure.
(ii) Examples
						  include: liquid manure structures, manure storage ponds, component reception
						  pits and transfer pipes, containment structures built under a confinement
						  building, permanent stacking and composting facilities and manure treatment
						  facilities.
(iii) The term does not
						  include the animal confinement areas of poultry houses, horse stalls, freestall
						  barns or bedded pack animal housing systems.
Mechanically incorporated
-The
							 combination of manure with the soil by means of farm tillage or manure
							 injection equipment, including disks and twisted shank chisel plows, to
							 minimize the potential of overland runoff of the manure.
NMP operation-Nutrient management plan
							 operation
-CAOs, VAOs and operations required to develop compliance
							 plans under section 506(j) of the act (relating to nutrient management
							 plans).
NRCS-Natural Resources Conservation
							 Service
-The Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United
							 States Department of Agriculture, formerly known as the Soil Conservation
							 Service.
National Wetlands Inventory
-The
							 inventory of known wetlands prepared by the United States Fish and Wildlife
							 Service and readily available on maps in digital format on the Internet.
Nutrient
-A substance or recognized
							 plant nutrient, element or compound which is used or sold for its plant
							 nutritive content or its claimed nutritive value. The term includes, but is not
							 limited to, livestock and poultry manures, compost as fertilizer, commercially
							 manufactured chemical fertilizers, biosolids or combinations thereof. The only
							 nutrient elements of concern under this subchapter, based on their potential to
							 impact the quality of surface waters or groundwater, are nitrogen and
							 phosphorus. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, "nutrients" as used
							 in this subchapter means nitrogen and phosphorus.
Nutrient balance sheet
-A crop
							 management BMP developed to protect surface and groundwater quality by
							 providing the calculations for determining the appropriate rate, method and
							 timing of manure that can be applied to cropland, hayland and pasture, to meet
							 the purposes of this subchapter.
Nutrient management specialist or
							 specialist
-A person satisfying the requirements of the Department of
							 Agriculture's Nutrient Management Certification Program in 7 Pa. Code
							 §§
													130b.1-130b.51 (relating to nutrient
							 management certification).
Pastures
-Crop areas managed for
							 forage production that are harvested by livestock, or a combination of
							 livestock and mechanical harvesting.
Pennsylvania Agronomy Guide
-The
							 reference book published by Cooperative Extension and updated periodically,
							 used as a practical guide to grain and forage production, soil fertility
							 management, pest management and erosion control, with special reference to
							 Pennsylvania conditions.
Pennsylvania Technical Guide
-A
							 primary reference document published by the United States Department of
							 Agriculture's NRCS, entitled
The Pennsylvania Soil and Water
							 Conservation Technical Guide
, which is used by technically trained
							 persons to plan and apply appropriate BMPs.
Perennial stream
-A body of water
							 flowing in a channel or bed composed primarily of substrates associated with
							 flowing waters and capable, in the absence of pollution or other manmade stream
							 disturbances, of supporting bottom dwelling aquatic animals.
Permanent manure stacking
							 areas
-Designated, improved storage areas that are used for the long
							 term or recurring storage of solid manure.
Phosphorus Index
-
(i) The field evaluation methodology
						  developed specifically for this Commonwealth and approved by the Commission,
						  which combines indicators of phosphorus sources and phosphorus transport, to
						  identify areas that have a high vulnerability or risk of phosphorus loss to
						  surface waters.
(ii) This
						  evaluation methodology provides direction on BMPs to address the land
						  application of phosphorus-containing nutrient sources, to protect water
						  quality.
Plan-Nutrient management
							 plan
-
(i) A written
						  site-specific plan which meets the requirements in the act, and in §§
						  83.271, 83.272 and 83.281-83.381.
(ii) Except when otherwise stated, the term
						  includes plan amendments required under this subchapter.
Soil test level
-The level of soil
							 characteristics such as phosphorus, potassium and pH, analyzed using standard
							 industry methods such as those described in the current
Pennsylvania
							 Agronomy Guide
.
Spring
-A place where groundwater
							 flows naturally from rock or soil onto the land surface for a total of 183 days
							 or more per year.
Stormwater
-Runoff from the surface
							 of the land resulting from rain, snow or ice melt.
VAO-Voluntary agricultural
							 operation
-
(i) Any operation
						  that voluntarily agrees to meet the requirements of this subchapter even though
						  it is not otherwise required under the act or this chapter to submit a nutrient
						  management plan.
(ii) The term
						  includes agricultural operations applying for financial assistance under the
						  act.
Winter
-December 15 to February 28,
							 or any time the ground is frozen at least 4 inches deep or is snow
							 covered.
This section cited in 7 Pa. Code §
															130e.2 (relating to
								definitions).