Regulations

• North Carolina's pork producers are subject to a full array of federal, state and local environmental regulations. Areas of typical regulation include: surface water and coastal water; air quality; animal and manure disposal; land and soil quality; land use; and odor.
• As in other industries, pork producers must meet or exceed all local, state, and federal worker health and safety requirements.
• To help pork producers understand and comply with regulations, producer-funded organizations, universities and government agencies sponsor educational seminars and workshops. Environmental consultants are available to help producers with on-farm audits and other types of management initiatives.
• Producers also depend upon a number of producer-funded programs, like the Environmental Assurance Program, that provide environmental management direction.
• Each year the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) conducts two inspections at each hog farm in the state. During 2000, the state performed over 6,000 inspections at North Carolina's 2,500 hog farms. In 98% of the inspections, no direct discharges of organic wastewater to the surface waters of the state were found. In 94% of inspections, no evidence of "over-application" to fields was found. Pork producers will continue to work to improve this already impressive inspection record.

Following is a summary of the rules and regulations that apply to hog farmers in North Carolina:

Setback:

• 1,500 ft to occupied residence.
• 2,500 ft to school, hospital, church, park, historic property.
• 100 ft to perennial waters.
• 500 ft. to any property boundary.
• 500 ft. to any well supplying water to a public water system or human consumption.
• No component of manure management system within 100 year floodplain.

Sprayfield:

• 75 ft. to boundary of property with occupied residence, or to stream or river.
• 25 ft. regulation buffer to perennial waters.
• Effluent must be applied at agronomic rates: i.e., nutrients are applied at rates at which they will be utilized by crops so that nutrients do not runoff into waters of the state.

Notice:

• Notice must be given to all adjoining property owners, owners across a road, county local health department of intention to build.

Odor:

• Complaint driven.
• Operators subject to management practices.
• Operators must submit odor management plan.
• Operator given one opportunity to correct objectionable odor problem before state mandates control technology.
• In 200 complaints, the Division of Air Quality has identified SIX farms with objectionable odor.

Soil Testing:

• Annually for Nitrogen
• Annually for Zinc
• Annually for Copper

Inspections:

• 2 inspections per year. (In 2000 there were over 6,000 inspections at livestock farms with wet manure system…Swine, Dairy, Poultry.)
• Farms inspected for discharge into waters of the state.
• Inspectors also look for:
  • inadequate freeboard.
    • Freeboard includes the required 12 inches for structural stability and at least 7 inches to accommodate a 24 hour-25 year storm.
  • Certified operator in charge.
  • Evidence of over-application of nutrients to crops.
  • Appropriate setbacks.
  • Appropriate land for agronomic application of organic waste effluent.
  • Crop planted matches that contained in permit.

Education:

• It is illegal for a producer to land-apply treated nutrient rich water without certification.
• Animal nutrient operators must undergo 10 hours of intensive training and pass a test to receive certification.
• Animal nutrient operators must receive six hours of continuing training every three years.

Floodplain building:

• North Carolina law prohibits the building of lagoon systems in the 100-year floodplain.
• orth Carolina's animal lagoons are built to Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) standards. NRCS has prohibited providing technical assistance for building such structures in the 100-year floodplain for at least 20 years.