                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

PERMITS FOR CONFINED ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS (§ 62.1-44.17:1)

A. For the purposes of this chapter, &#8220;confined animal feeding
operation&#8221; means a lot or facility, together with any associated treatment
works, where both of the following conditions are met:

   1. Animals have been, are, or will be stabled or confined and fed or
   maintained for a total of 45 days or more in any 12-month period; and

   2. Crops, vegetation, forage growth or post-harvest residues are not sustained
   over any portion of the operation of the lot or facility.
   				Two or more confined animal feeding operations under common ownership are
   considered to be a single confined animal feeding operation if they adjoin
   each other or if they use a common area or system for the disposal of liquid
   waste.

A1. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection B, the Board shall promulgate
regulations requiring Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits
for confined animal feeding operations to the extent necessary to comply with
&#xA7; 402 of the federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. &#xA7; 1342), as amended.

B. A confined animal feeding operation with 300 or more animal units utilizing a
liquid manure collection and storage system, upon fulfillment of the
requirements of this section, shall be permitted by a General Virginia Pollution
Abatement permit (hereafter referred to as the &#8220;General Permit&#8221;),
adopted by the Board. In adopting the General Permit the Board shall:

   1. Authorize the General Permit to pertain to confined animal feeding
   operations having 300 or more animal units;

   2. Establish procedures for submitting a registration statement meeting the
   requirements of subsection C. Submitting a registration statement shall be
   evidence of intention to be covered by the General Permit; and

   3. Establish criteria for the design and operation of confined animal feeding
   operations only as described in subsection E.

C. For coverage under the General Permit, the owner of the confined animal
feeding operation shall file a registration statement with the Department of
Environmental Quality providing the name and address of the owner of the
operation, the name and address of the operator of the operation (if different
than the owner), the mailing address and location of the operation, and a list
of the types, maximum number and average weight of the animals that will be
maintained at the facility. The owner shall attach to the registration
statement:

   1. A copy of a letter of approval of the nutrient management plan for the
   operation from the Department of Conservation and Recreation;

   2. A copy of the approved nutrient management plan;

   3. A notification from the governing body of the locality where the operation
   is located that the operation is consistent with all ordinances adopted
   pursuant to Chapter 22 (&#xA7; 15.2-2200 et seq.) of Title 15.2;

   4. A certification that the owner or operator meets all the requirements of
   the Board for the General Permit; and

   5. A certification that the owner has given notice of the registration
   statement to all owners or residents of property that adjoins the property on
   which the proposed operation will be located. Such notice shall include (i)
   the types and maximum number of animals that will be maintained at the
   facility and (ii) the address and phone number of the appropriate Department
   of Environmental Quality regional office to which comments relevant to the
   permit may be submitted. Such certification of notice shall be waived whenever
   the registration is for the purpose of renewing coverage under a permit for
   which no expansion is proposed and the Department of Environmental Quality has
   not issued any special or consent order relating to violations under the
   existing permit.

D. Any person may submit written comments on the proposed operation to the
Department within 30 days of the date of the filing of the registration
statement. If, on the basis of such written comments or his review, the Director
determines that the proposed operation will not be capable of complying with the
provisions of this section, the Director shall require the owner to obtain an
individual permit for the operation. Any such determination by the Director
shall be made in writing and received by the owner not more than 45 days after
the filing of the registration statement or, if in the Director&#8217;s sole
discretion additional time is necessary to evaluate comments received from the
public, not more than 60 days after the filing of the registration statement.

E. The criteria for the design and operation of a confined animal feeding
operation shall be as follows:

   1. The operation shall have a liquid manure collection and storage facility
   designed and operated to: (i) prevent any discharge to state waters, except a
   discharge resulting from a storm event exceeding a 25-year, 24-hour storm and
   (ii) provide adequate waste storage capacity to accommodate periods when the
   ground is frozen or saturated, periods when land application of nutrients
   should not occur due to limited or nonexistent crop nutrient uptake, and
   periods when physical limitations prohibit the land application of waste;

   2. The operation shall implement and maintain on site a nutrient management
   plan approved pursuant to subdivision 1 of subsection C. The nutrient
   management plan shall contain at a minimum the following information: (i) a
   site map indicating the location of the waste storage facilities and the
   fields where waste will be applied; (ii) site evaluation and assessment of
   soil types and potential productivities; (iii) nutrient management sampling
   including soil and waste monitoring; (iv) storage and land area requirements;
   (v) calculation of waste application rates; (vi) waste application schedules;
   and (vii) a plan for waste utilization in the event the operation is
   discontinued;

   3. Adequate buffer zones, where waste shall not be applied, shall be
   maintained between areas where waste may be applied and (i) water supply wells
   or springs, (ii) surface water courses, (iii) rock outcroppings, (iv)
   sinkholes, and (v) occupied dwellings unless a waiver is signed by the
   occupants of the dwellings;

   4. The operation shall be monitored as follows: (i) waste shall be monitored
   at least once per year; (ii) soil shall be monitored at least once every three
   years; (iii) ground water shall be monitored at new earthen waste storage
   facilities constructed to an elevation below the seasonal high water table or
   within one foot thereof; and (iv) all facilities previously covered by a
   Virginia Pollution Abatement permit that required ground water monitoring
   shall continue such monitoring. In such facilities constructed below the water
   table, the top surface of the waste must be maintained at a level of at least
   two feet above the water table. The Department of Environmental Quality and
   the Department of Conservation and Recreation may include in the permit or
   nutrient management plan more frequent or additional monitoring of waste,
   soils or groundwater as required to protect state waters. Records shall be
   maintained to demonstrate where and at what rate waste has been applied, that
   the application schedule has been followed, and what crops have been planted.
   Such records shall be available for inspection by the Department of
   Environmental Quality and shall be maintained for a period of five years after
   recorded application is made;

   5. New earthen waste storage facilities shall include a properly designed and
   installed liner. Such liner shall be either a synthetic liner of at least 20
   mils thickness or a compacted soil liner of at least one foot thickness with a
   maximum permeability rating of 0.0014 inches per hour. A licensed professional
   engineer, an employee of the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the
   United States Department of Agriculture with appropriate engineering approval
   authority, or an employee of a soil and water conservation district with
   appropriate engineering approval authority shall certify that the siting,
   design and construction of the waste storage facility comply with the
   requirements of this section;

   6. New waste storage facilities shall not be located on a 100-year flood
   plain;

   7. All facilities must maintain one foot of freeboard at all times, up to and
   including a 25-year, 24-hour storm;

   8. All equipment needed for the proper operation of the permitted facilities
   shall be maintained in good working order. Manufacturer&#8217;s operating and
   maintenance manuals shall be retained for references to allow for timely
   maintenance and prompt repair of equipment when appropriate;

   9. The owner or operator of the operation shall notify the Department of
   Environmental Quality at least 14 days prior to animals being placed in the
   confined facility; and

   10. Each operator of a facility covered by the General Permit on July 1, 1999,
   shall, by January 1, 2000, complete the training program offered or approved
   by the Department of Conservation and Recreation under subsection F. Each
   operator of a facility permitted after July 1, 1999, shall complete such
   training within one year after the registration statement required by
   subsection C has been submitted. Thereafter, all operators shall complete the
   training program at least once every three years.

F. The Department of Conservation and Recreation, in consultation with the
Department of Environmental Quality and the Virginia Cooperative Extension
Service, shall develop or approve a training program for persons operating
confined animal feeding operations covered by the General Permit. The program
shall include training in the requirements of the General Permit; the use of
best management practices; inspection and management of liquid manure
collection, storage and application systems; water quality monitoring and spill
prevention; and emergency procedures.

G. Operations having an individual Virginia Pollution Abatement permit or a No
Discharge Certificate may submit a registration statement for operation under
the General Permit pursuant to this section.

H. The Director of the Department of Environmental Quality may require the owner
of a confined animal feeding operation to obtain an individual permit for an
operation subject to this section upon determining that the operation is in
violation of the provisions of this section or if coverage under an individual
permit is required to comply with federal law. New or reissued individual
permits shall contain criteria for the design and operation of confined animal
feeding operations including, but not limited to, those described in subsection
E.

I. No person shall operate a confined animal feeding operation with 300 or more
animal units utilizing a liquid manure collection and storage system after July
1, 2000, without having submitted a registration statement as provided in
subsection C or being covered by a Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System permit or an individual Virginia Pollution Abatement permit.

J. Any person violating this section shall be subject only to the provisions of
&#xA7;&#xA7; 62.1-44.23 and 62.1-44.32 (a), except that any civil penalty
imposed shall not exceed $2,500 for any confined animal feeding operation
covered by a Virginia Pollution Abatement permit.

HISTORY: 1994, c. 698; 1998, cc. 805, 863; 2001, c. 109; 2003, c. 375; 2004, c.
455.