Ralph Fisher, a former Idaho state agronomist with the NRCS, explains the nine minimum requirements a dairy’s nutrient management plan must have during the Idaho Nutrient Management Conference in Jerome, Idaho, in early March. Fisher explained that a nutrient management plan which met the requirements must be submitted with a request for a CAFO permit under soon-to-be-released new guidelines. Fisher is the regulator who reviews plans submitted to the EPA for compliance.
He spoke after his colleague Nick Peak of the EPA’s Region 10 Office had just answered producers’ questions about whether a dairy will need a CAFO permit to apply manure to land that is watered by surface irrigation. Peak said the dairy would if they “control” the land.
The definition of “control” is currently being litigated on the East Coast, he said. The EPA does not currently have jurisdiction over handlers of third-party manure transfers. PD
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TOP RIGHT: Ralph Fisher explains the nine minimum requirements a dairy’s nutrient management plan must have during the Idaho Nutrient Management Conference in Jerome, Idaho, in early March. Photo by Mike Dixon.
