The Pollution Control Hearings Board ruled October 25 on the CAFO permit appeal, handing a partial victory to Washington State Dairy Federation and Washington Farm Bureau.
The extreme activist coalition, led by Charlie Tebbutt and Puget Sound Keeper Alliance (PSA), was issued a TOTAL DEFEAT. The Hearings Board generally held their demands to be unsupported by science, and not reasonable to implement.
“The Board finds that the evidence established that a two foot vertical separation measured from the top of the liner inside the lagoon to the water table is sufficient for attenuation of pathogens and viruses.”
As a result, the Hearings Board has ordered Ecology to modify the permit to be consistent with NRCS on where to measure the vertical separation.
This means that functioning lagoons cannot be deemed deficient because Ecology wanted to change the measuring point for the vertical separation requirement.
Dairy Federation also challenged manure spreading limitations, excessive soil sampling requirements (depth and frequency), and the adaptive management requirements. In all these matters, the Hearings Board deferred to Ecology.
PSA demanded groundwater monitoring, surface water monitoring, individual (versus programmatic) permit standards and hearings, double synthetic liners with leak detection, and more. The Hearings Board ruled that PSA provided insufficient science to justify their demands.
“The Board concludes that PSA failed to prove that surface water monitoring is necessary.”
“The Board concludes that PSA failed to prove that ground water monitoring is necessary.”
“Ecology also determined that available information did not support a conclusion that seepage from all lagoons was resulting in the contamination of groundwater.”
The ruling can be appealed to Superior Court, if an appeal is filed within 30 days.
Dairy Federation is continuing to review the ruling and is consulting with legal counsel.
All dairies are required currently to comply with the Dairy Nutrient Management Act. The additional requirements of the CAFO permit apply to CAFO permittees.
You may apply for the CAFO permit voluntarily but are required to apply if you have a discharge to surface water or ground water.
The decision to apply for a permit should be weighed carefully.
We will have additional discussion and review by legal counsel and crop consultants at the Washington Dairy Conference, Annual Meeting & Trade Show at Great Wolf Lodge December 3-5, 2018. Registration is free for Grade A dairies (and you can bring your family).
To register, go to www.WaStateDairy.com.