Ohio
EPA water quality sampling of AFOs:
Issues and case studies
Rick Wilson
OEPA, Division of Surface Water, PTI Unit
Public
and agency concerns regarding the potential for nutrient runoff from manure
applied to frozen fields appear to be justified based on data samples acquired
in January 2001. Investigation of
one complaint verified that poultry manure had been spread within a grass
waterway and stockpiled 30’ from it. Water
samples taken downstream of the waterway on January 29, 2001, when the ground
remained frozen, detected minor amounts of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD),
nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). However,
as temperatures rose during a thaw on January 30 and 31, samples detected
significantly higher amounts of BOD, N and P.
These values were also high when compared with runoff samples taken
during the thaw from fields with no manure applied and from a field in which
manure had been applied the previous year.
Although
large Animal Feeding Operations (AFOs) are required to file Livestock Waste
Management Plans (LWMP), which specifies manure management practices and record
keeping requirements, application of manure to frozen ground is not prohibited.
In this case study, the required records were incomplete, lacking
specific sources of manure (i.e., barns), laboratory data to verify manure
moisture and manure and soil nutrients, names of haulers and spreaders, any
indication of field inspection or oversight by the AFO operator.
To address the apparent disconnect between agencies which address manure
management, the OEPA developed a “Memorandum of Understanding Concerning State
AFO Programs” between the OEPA and Soil and Water Conservation Districts which
outlines communication between the agencies regarding information and technical
support as well as reports of discharges.