Responsiveness Summary
Prairie View Dairy
National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES)
NPDES
PERMIT No. MIG010123
Below is a
summary of comments received by the
Michigan
Department of Environmental Quality
(DEQ), Water Resources
Division
(WRD), during
the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), public comment period from October 2, 2018 through November
1, 2018, relating to NPDES
Permit No. MIG010293. The purpose of the public notice period was
to inform the public and take comments
on revisions to the Comprehensive
Nutrient
Management Plan (CNMP) for Prairie
View Dairy (MIG010123) under the
NPDES General
Permit
(MIG010000)
for
Concentrated
Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs).
The NPDES General Permit
for
CAFOs was placed on public notice from December 19,
2014 to January 27, 2015;
a public hearing was held January 21, 2015; the General Permit was
issued in April 2015 and
will
expire and
be reissued on April
1, 2020. The General
Permit for CAFOs details
requirements for waste storage structures, land
application of manure,
conservation
practices, and
inspection and reporting requirements.
A
copy of the CAFO General
Permit – 2015 can be found on
the DEQ
website
at www.mi.gov/cafo.
Prairie View Dairy applied to the DEQ
to
operate a CAFO on September 1, 2015. The
draft Certificate
of
Coverage (COC) was placed on
public notice November 3, 2016 to November 18, 2016; no
comments were received. The COC for Prairie View Dairy was
issued and made effective on
November 22,
2016, and will expire on April
1, 2020, concurrent with the CAFO General
Permit. Prior
to a
decision regarding permit
reissuance in
2020, the public will
again
have the opportunity to provide comments on the permit application
and proposed permit. If new information becomes available
that
would require the facility to
obtain coverage
under an individual permit, the CAFO General Permit includes
language
under
Part 1., Section 8 for
this process to
occur.
Prior to the General
Permit
expiring on April
1,
2020, the permittee must submit an application for reissuance. At
that
time,
the Department will use all information regarding the facility and
its operations to
determine if the facility
can (1) seek continued
authorization
under the General Permit,
or (2) if application for and coverage under an individual permit, will be required.
The public documents for this facility
may
be viewed at the DEQ MiWaters database
located at
https://miwaters.deq.state.mi.us/nsite/. At the top of this page, please click on the “Documents” tab.
This will allow the reader
to
select, download
and view the files.
The General
Permit for CAFOs requires the submittal of an
updated CNMP
within 90 days of a “Significant Change” in the operation of a CAFO. Significant changes include, but are not limited to,
any
of the following:
1) An increase
in the number of animals that results in a greater
than
or equal to
10 percent increase
in the
volume of
either the manure alone or the total
CAFO waste generated per year as
compared to the volumes
identified in the application, as a cumulative total over the
life of
the
COC.
2) An increase in the number of animals that results in a decrease in the waste storage capacity time, as identified in the application, by 10 percent or greater, as a cumulative total over the life of the
COC.
requires more land for its application than is available at the time of
the increase.
4) A decrease in the
number of acres
available for land application, where the CAFO waste
generated requires more land for application than will
be available after the decrease.
5) The construction
of
a new animal housing facility or waste storage facility.
The Prairie View Dairy
CAFO increased animal numbers such that
there was a
greater
than
10 percent increase
in the volume of manure generated per
year. In addition, the facility
constructed
an additional
waste storage structure, thereby requiring the submittal of a CNMP revision.
Comments
submitted regarding the CNMP during the
public notice
period are in
bold, and DEQ responses follow.
1. Comment:
I would like for the community to
be able to ask
questions about the Prairie View
Dairy and request a public hearing.
Response:
Per Rule R323.2130,
a public hearing
may
be requested to
comment on an application for a state or
national
permit. The submittal of an updated
CNMP is a requirement of Prairie
View Dairy’s NPDES permit. It
is
not an application for, or a modification of
the permit.
The updated
CNMP was placed on public notice for informational
purposes.
Because there is not
a permit application, a public hearing
will not be held.
2. Comment: The
facility has had numerous
violations in the past, including land
application
of manure resulting in a discharge to Gilkey Lake
in 2015.
Response:
The discharge from land application of manure resulted in
an Administrative Consent Order (ACO)
including applicable fines.
Other violations, most of which were from inadequate
record-keeping and submittals,
resulted in an enforcement response from the
DEQ
district staff.
Compliance and enforcement actions taken against the facility by the
DEQ can be found in MiWaters.
3. Comment: The
roads are being adversely
impacted by heavy farm machinery and
trucks
hauling manure.
Response:
As this is not addressed
under the NPDES permit, please contact the Barry County
Road
Commission through their website at https://www.barrycrc.org. This issue
falls under
the jurisdiction of the County Road Commission.
4. Comment:
The trucks hauling manure spill
it
onto the roads.
Response:
As this is not addressed
under the NPDES permit, please contact the local law
enforcement for
manure or other items in the road.
This falls under local law enforcement jurisdiction as a possible road
hazard.
5. Comment:
The odors are horrible, especially in the
summer and
become worse every year.
Response:
As odor issues are not addressed by the
NPDES permit, please
contact
the
Michigan
Department of Agriculture
and Rural Development (MDARD), Right to Farm Program at
877-632-1783.
Odor complaints fall under MDARDs Right to Farm jurisdiction.
6. Comment: Prairie View Dairy CAFO poses a significant risk to Crooked Lake
and other water bodies in this area based
on its large storage volumes, minimal buffering area,
and close vicinity to
the
lakes and close
vicinity to
the
lakes and wetlands
of high value for habitat and fishing.
maintained
and operated to the Natural Resources Conservation Service Standard 313 Waste
Storage
Facility (NRCS
313). The structures must also have at least six months
storage of
production area waste. The design requirements include reviews and verifications by professional engineers of site suitability for construction and to verify that the storage structures are constructed according to
NRCS 313 Standards. In addition,
the permit
requires a 100-foot setback (or 35-foot vegetated buffer) of
manure application from any surface waters of the state
or a conduit to
surface waters of the state.
7. Comment: The
Prairie View Dairy has
violated their permit by producing approximately 5.4 million gallons of CAFO waste, constructing waste storage facilities, and
expanding the
herd size greater than the
permit allows.
Response:
The NPDES permit does not limit animal numbers or the volume of manure produced at a CAFO. The permittee is not required to request permission to construct additional waste
storage structures. However, the permit
does require that the
permittee notify the Department
prior to construction of
a waste storage structure.
Furthermore, the
permittee is required to submit an updated CNMP within 90 days if they are constructing additional waste storage structures, or if
the manure volume exceeds
10 percent or
more
of the volume indicated in their most recent
application. In addition, the
storage structures must be designed
and built to the NRCS 313
Standards. The
Prairie View Dairy facility did fail to submit a revised CNMP within the required
time period,
and therefore received
a Violation Notice (VN).
An updated CNMP
was received as a result of the VN.
8. Comment: Please take enforcement action by requiring this
CAFO to reduce its herd back
to the number of animals permitted.
Response:
The NPDES CAFO general permit, or State CAFO Rules and Regulations do not
place a limit on the number of animals which may be housed at a CAFO facility. The permittee
is responsible for having sufficient
waste storage capacity and land
on which to apply or manifest
(sell
or give
away) manure per NPDES permit
requirements. The permit does not
allow a
discharge to groundwaters of
the state. If a CAFO facility increases to 5,000 animal units (for dairy cows, this is 3,500 mature
cows), there are additional requirements placed
on the facility
to protect
groundwater.
9: Comment: A sample of the discharge to West Gilkey Lake indicated elevated
levels of
some pollutants (phosphorus, suspended solids, turbidity).
Manure may contain pesticides, anti-bacterial,
and hormones. These pharmaceuticals may also contaminate
groundwater and enter our drinking water supply. West
Gilkey Lake has been designated as a Priority Conservation Area in
the
Four-Township Water Resource’s Council Water Management Plan. Prairieville Creek receives
groundwater inputs from water draining
through many of the farm
fields that
receive manure from the Dairy.
Response:
As stated, samples
of the
discharge to West
Gilkey Lake did indicate elevated levels
of
total phosphorus, suspended solids, and turbidity which resulted
in
a Violation Notice
to Prairie View Dairy.
Currently, the Department does not sample for anti-bacterial compounds or hormones
in surface water as there are no
water quality standards for these parameters.
For additional
information concerning residential drinking water
wells, please
contact
your County Health
Department. The permit does
not allow a discharge to groundwaters. Manure may not be applied to fields that are
saturated to reduce the conduit
to surface or groundwaters.
10: Comment: The
land
can only safely absorb a limited amount of waste spread
over Prairie View's fields. Once the contamination reaches adjacent
land
and wells, the
damage is done.
Response:
The NPDES CAFO
General
Permit has specific requirements to provide manure analysis, soil tests, and crop uptake of nutrients. This information is then used to determine
appropriate land application
rates of manure, which limits the amount of manure and other fertilizers the
land
may
receive.
11: Comments: Put increased monitoring in place
to
make certain Prairie
View's waste management practices cannot threaten surrounding lakes
and
land.
Response:
The DEQ conducts surface water quality monitoring throughout
the state. Water quality in Crooked Lake is currently not
being collected by the DEQ, but
the Department does
accept annual requests for sampling. The
DEQ also encourages local
communities to participate
in monitoring their local watersheds. Both upper and lower Crooked Lakes in
Barry County
application based, in part, on current
manure soil
tests (and defines the
level
at which a field may no longer receive
waste), nutrient
analysis of CAFO waste, and the
projected
crop
yield.
12. Comment: Violations relating to spreading manure during winter months when the practice
was
specifically prohibited by the
DEQ
restrictions.
My understanding is that restrictions were put in place after the
violation of manure runoff and the DEQ
prohibited spreading manure in the winter.
Response:
The current general permit allows spreading of manure on frozen or
snow-covered ground if applied according
to
the Technical Standard for the Surface
Application of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations Waste
on Frozen or Snow-Covered Ground Without Incorporation
or Injection. As a result
of
the discharge,
the
ACO placed specific field and
land application requirements
through May 1, 2018 for Prairie View Dairy.
This document,
ACO-000298 may be
located in
MiWaters via
https://miwaters.deq.state.mi.us/nsite/ and using the following steps:
a) enter
“Prairie View Dairy in
the Search
bar;
b) click on the facility name under “Results” menu;
c) at the top,
click on the “Documents” tab;
d) check the box for “PVD Signed ACO.pdf”;
e) click on the button at
the
top for “Download Selected”
13. Comment:
Are they supposed
to
be plowing that waste under as they deposit it?
Response:
The NPDES permit
requires manure be incorporated
within
24 hours. However, there
are exceptions (per Part I.B.3.f of
the permit)
with specific conditions for other farming methods including the use of
no-till farming,
use of perennial crops for cover, or applications per the
Technical
Standard for the Surface Application of
Concentrated Animal
Feeding
Operations Waste
on Frozen
or Snow-Covered Ground Without
Incorporation
or Injection.
14. Comment: We are concerned
about
the
existing and the
potential for high nitrate levels in
drinking water wells. Resident’s shallow
wells, CAFO waste applications with excess
nitrogen (as noted from the DEQ
on 4/2/17), and limited fields available to spread
waste with
nitrogen, pose risks. What actions are being taken to monitor and address these issues?
Response:
The DEQ recognizes
concerns of existing nitrates in
drinking wells.
The general
permit prohibits discharges from land application of CAFO waste to groundwaters of the state. In addition, the NPDES
permit prohibits land application of CAFO waste on fields that are
saturated;
this prohibition is regardless of the cause
for saturation, such as
precipitation
events or high-water
tables.
To address
concerns about over-application of
nutrients,
the
DEQ staff conduct planned and
unannounced inspections at CAFO
production sites, on fields, and a
records review at the facility. These inspections and findings are available
to the
public via the
DEQ’s MiWaters database. In
addition, annual reports are required to
be submitted
and
are then reviewed
by the
district
staff
for application rates of
manure and nutrients. This was the approach used by the DEQ to observe
and respond, with
enforcement action, when the permittee
over-applied nitrogen.
The facility still
has
fields on which manure with nitrogen may be
land applied. The
permit maintains
limiting rates of nutrients applied.
On fields
with a high level of phosphorus in the soil (> 150 ppm P), the application
of manure is prohibited.
On fields with soil phosphorus concentrations at
medium level
(>75
ppm P and <150ppm P)
or low level
(<75 ppm P),
the application is limited by the level of nitrogen the crop
can take up;
therefore,
fields such
as
these may still receive
manure applications
in subsequent years. In no circumstance may the
application rate exceed
the nitrogen (N) fertilizer recommendation (removal value for legumes) for the first
crop
year
grown after
the CAFO waste is applied
unless samples or other
relevant data
shows additional N is needed for or will be beneficial
to
the crop. Documentation justifying
additional N must be kept with the farm’s CNMP.
15. Comment: More of
the
farm fields are not
tillable due to the high level of
the
groundwater
around here.
Response:
The NPDES CAFO permit prohibits land application
of manure
at sites where
the
soils are saturated.
16 Comment: The manifesting of manure can lead to problems with oversight
as to where the
manure ends up. The
public is not protected when this happens,
and the receiving field
owners do
not
demonstrate their responsibility to
the public good.
Response:
Rule 323.2196 of Part 21, Wastewater Discharge Permit of the
Natural Resources and
Environmental Protection
Act,
1994 PA 451, as amended,
states that
CAFO waste may be manifested (transferred, sold, or given away) to
a recipient.
The NPDES permit requires that the
generator (a
CAFO owner or operator) maintain
a manifest form to track information including but not limited to, the recipient’s address, the quantity of waste transferred, and
the
final destination of
the waste;
the
nutrient content of the waste is also provided to the recipient to
be used in determining the appropriate land
application rates.
Although not under a permit,
recipients of CAFO waste are still subject to the requirements and
enforcement of the Part 31 Water Resources Protection rules so that
discharges to
waters of the
state that
violate water quality standards are prohibited
and
subject to enforcement actions. Furthermore, the generator of CAFO waste may be informed that he may no longer provide
production area waste to that
recipient until the
DEQ
provides approval.
17. Comment:
Has the DEQ prohibited Prairie View from manifesting waste since the
January 14, 2017 incident was
discovered? Was such a contract ever signed and filed with the
DEQ?
Response:
After Prairie View Dairy
manifested waste and failed to provide advance
notification to
the DEQ,
the
ACO included
specific requirements,
not a prohibition for
the
permittee to manifest waste.
The DEQ was
able to work with the permittee to bring
the
CAFO facility into compliance. The contract mentioned was provided to
the
DEQ (dated
January 27, 2017) and may be found in the
MiWaters database.
18. Comment:
Emergency
Action
Plan—An emergency action plan is required by Prairie
View’s
permit and was due May 22, 2016 but had not been
submitted as of the
date of Washburn’s
letter.
This means the CAFO had
been, at that
point,
operating without an emergency action plan for nearly two years and
may
still be. The requirement for the plan was underscored by staff in the wake of the huge waste spill that occurred in 2015 that precipitated the need for the Consent Order.
Response:
An emergency action plan
is
not required
by the
NPDES CAFO permit.
However, the
Emergency Action Plan which was
required by the Administrative Consent
Order has been submitted and can
be viewed in MiWaters.
