HB 722 — Poultry Waste Management.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA H.B.SESSION 2023 H 1 HOUSE BILL 722 Short Title:

722 Apr 18, 2023 SESSION 2023 HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK H D HOUSE BILL DRH40389-MHa-23A Short Title:

RepresentativeRepresentatives Harrison.Harrison, Autry, Ball, and Longest (Primary Sponsors).

For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.

Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House April 19, 2023 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO CREATE A PERMITTING PROGRAM FOR DRY LITTER POULTRY OPERATIONS;

TO DIRECT THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW COMMISSION TO STUDY AND DETERMINE THE NUMBER AND LOCATION OF POULTRY FARMS (CAFOS) IN NORTH CAROLINA, THE DRY LITTER WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND PRACTICES THAT ARE EMPLOYED BY THESE FARMS, THE POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH IMPACTS AND DAMAGES THESE SYSTEMS AND PRACTICES MAY HAVE, AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW BEST TO REGULATE THESE WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN PROTECTING THEENVIRONMENT ANDTHEPUBLIC'SANDTHE HEALTHANDSAFETY;PUBLIC'S HEALTHAND SAFETY;

ANDANDTOREVISE TOREVISE WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS FOR DRY LITTER POULTRY FACILITIES.

and Whereas, it is estimated that in 2022, the State had over 544 million poultrypoultryand and 4,863 dry litter poultry facilities, compared to 8.8 million hogs and 2,489 hog farms;

and Whereas, because drydrylitter litterpoultryoperations poultry operations do not discharge their waste directlydirectlyto to surfacewaters,theyarenot regulatedundertheNational Pollution DischargeElimination System (NPDES), and these operations are deemed permitted unless an illicit discharge is reported and documented by staff;

and Whereas, in addition to nutrient pollution from runoff of land application sites, the lack of regulatoryregulatoryoversight oversight for drydrypoultrylitter poultry litter also threatens surrounding communities through pathogen-laden surface waters and contaminated flood waters;

and *DRH40389-MHa-23A**H722-v-1* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2023 Whereas, this pollution disproportionately impacts communities of color and jeopardizes economic drivers in all communities;

143-215.10C requires that anyanyowner owner or operator of a dry litter poultry facility that is not subject to federal regulation but that involves 30,000 or more birds shall develop an animal waste management plan;

The owner or operator of a drydrylitter litterpoultryfacilitythat poultry facility that is required to be permitted under 40 Code of Federal Regulations § 122, as amended at 73 Federal Register 70418 (November 20, 2008), shall submit an application forapermit at least 180days priortooperationpriorto ofanewanimaloperationofanewanimal wastemanagement system.

Page 2 DRH40389-MHa-23AHouse Bill 722-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2023 (a1) An owner or operator of an animal waste management system for an animal operation or a dry litter poultry facility that is required to be permitted under 40 Code of Federal Regulations § 122, as amended at 73 Federal Register 70418 (November 20, 2008), shall apply for an individual National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit or a general NPDES permit under this Article and may not discharge into waters of the State except in compliance with an NPDES permit.

DRH40389-MHa-23AHouse Bill 722-First Edition Page 3 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2023 (3) Provisions that set forth acceptable methods of disposing of mortalities.

The suspension of testing Page 4 DRH40389-MHa-23AHouse Bill 722-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2023 only applies to the animal operation types designated by the State Veterinarian, and shall be in effect for a period of time that the State Veterinarian deems necessary to prevent and control the animal disease.

(1) The growth of the poultry industryindustryin in the State, including the current location, size, and number of dry litter poultry facilities in the State.

(3) The amount of drydrylitter litterpoultrywaste poultry waste produced by drydrylitter litterpoultryfacilities, poultry facilities, the methods of disposing of the waste, the documentation of how waste is DRH40389-MHa-23AHouse Bill 722-First Edition Page 5 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2023 disposed of, and how much of the waste is disposed of on-site by the waste generatorandhowmuchisdisposedofoff-sitebya third-partyhaulerorwaste transport and disposal company.

(4) The environmental impacts of drydrylitter litterpoultrywaste, poultry waste, including surface water impacts, groundwater impacts, soil contamination, and atmospheric deposition caused by nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus and heavy metals such as arsenic, copper, and zinc.

(5) Thepublichealthimpacts ofdrylitterpoultrywaste,includingofdrylitterpoultrywaste,includingimpacts impacts related to odor, drinking water contamination, drug residues, pathogens, and disease vectors and pests.

TheTheCommissionshall Commission shall identifythedeficiencies in the regulation of dry litter poultry facilities in the State and consider whether the regulations of dry litter poultry facilities in other states and the regulation of animal operations for swine in the State should be applied to dry litter poultry facilities.

The Commission maymayrequest request recommendations from any of these entities related to any of the topics set out in this act.

Any operator of this type of animal waste management system shall retain records required under this section and by the Department on-site for three years." SECTION 3.(b) The sum of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2023-2024 fiscal year is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Environmental QualityQualityto to be allocated to the Division of Water Resources to develop educational Page 6 DRH40389-MHa-23AHouse Bill 722-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2023 resources and provide technical assistance for owners and operators of dry litter poultry facilities in complying with the reporting requirement set out in this act.

All information published bybythe the Department of Agriculture andConsumer Services pursuant to this Part shall be classified so as to prevent the identification of information received from individual farm operators.

(3) Theinformation is limitedto thelocation,size,andthelocation,size,andownershipof ownershipof anindividual farm operation." PART V.

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