July 2, 2009

Welcome to Weekly Update, a publication of Western United Environmental Services (WUES). Our goal is to provide you with the latest information about the WDRs from the water board and how our organization can help you with your environmental challenges. All previous publications of the Weekly Update can be found in the newsletters section on our website at www.wuenvironmental.com.

July 1 Deadline Met

Western United Environmental Services would like to applaud its dedicated staff and clients for meeting the July 1 deadline. Over 250 dairies submitted their Waste Discharge Requirements and will avoid incurring fines for late submission.  As the deadline quickly approached WUES was committed to working together with producers in submitting required reports.  As always, WUES is dedicated to reducing your compliance costs, providing flexible services, and providing essential Plan Development, Monitoring & Reporting.

House Passes Clean Energy Legislation with Significant Benefits for Agriculture

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved legislation that will allow farmers, ranchers and forestland owners to fully participate in a market-based carbon offset program, earning income for activities they undertake to address global climate change. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin C. Peterson (MN) worked with the authors of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2454) to include several important programs that recognize and reward the agriculture and forestry sector for conservation activities and clean energy production. Under the legislation passed by the House, the agriculture and forestry sectors are clearly exempt from the bill's greenhouse gas emission reduction requirements, which means that farmers, ranchers and forestland owners will not be subject to the greenhouse gas emissions cap. <more> June 26, 2009 House Ag Committee Press Release

EPA looks to approve California’s one-hour ozone plan in Valley

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to approve a large portion of California’s plan to attain the federal 1-hour ozone health standard in the San Joaquin Valley while simultaneously proposing to disapprove the plan’s contingency provisions.  This is the second time the EPA has proposed action on the state’s plan for meeting the 1-hour ozone standard in the valley.  The Clean Air Act requires air quality plans to include contingency measures that provide for continuing emission reductions if an area fails to attain by its required deadline.   The EPA is proposing to disapprove the contingency provisions in the San Joaquin Valley plan because the plan does not show sufficient emission reductions for contingency purposes.

The EPA press release pointed out, “While EPA recommends additional rule revisions regarding dairies, beef feedlot and other cattle operations, we are proposing to defer a decision on whether the rule meets Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for those operations pending results from the National Air Emissions Monitoring Study (NAEMS).”

The practical impact for Valley dairymen will be that the Valley Air District’s Rule 4570, that regulates emissions from dairies and other confined animal facilities, will remain in effect and dairy farms will continue to comply with the provisions of the rule.  “While continuing to comply, we are also are eager to see the results of the EPA study,” said Paul Martin, WUD’s director of environmental services. “Western United Dairymen was instrumental in helping to obtain funding for the NAEMS and in locating a dairy site in California for the study.  The EPA study, along with the completion of significant other dairy research supported by the state air board and the Valley air district, which is being conducted with the cooperation of local dairy farmers, is hoped to more effectively target and refine the provisions of Rule 4570 so that full approval is possible.”

Rule 4570 has been upheld by recent court action, and as a result of the district voluntarily moving to extreme non-attainment status, the rule is already slated for revision in coming weeks. 

Study looks at role manure plays as fertilizer and energy source

It's a conundrum that every confined feeding operation has to deal with – what to do with stockpiled manure. USDA, under direction from the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, has evaluated the role that manure plays as a fertilizer and energy source. About 5% of all U.S. cropland is currently fertilized with livestock manure and corn acres account for more than half of the land to which manure is applied. Expanded environmental regulations will likely lead to wider use of manure as an organic fertilizer. While this will raise production costs for livestock operations, especially those that must haul the manure any distance, the overall impact on production costs, commodity demand or farm structure will be limited. While the report notes there is widespread interest in using manure as an energy source, current use is very limited. That may change with expanded government support, but the amount of manure used to produce methane or electricity won't be sufficient to compete with manure supplies used as fertilizer because manure nutrients can be left behind as residue in a more marketable form and manure-to-energy projects will be most profitable in regions where manure is in excess supply. Read the report at: www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/AP/AP037/.  July 1, 2009 USDA ERS Report

CALENDAR OF MONTHLY MONITORING ACTIVITIES

JULY

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