Operators of dead farm animal composting facilities are
encouraged to be trained, tested, and certified by a department-approved
certification program upon approval of such a program by the department. A
facility that composts dead farm animals is exempt from permitting if the
following operating requirements are met and the facility is in compliance with
567-105.3 (455B,455D).
Businesses or individuals that are neither the owner nor operator of any of the
sites where dead farm animals are generated and that want to compost dead farm
animals must obtain a permit in accordance with
567-105.8 (455B,455D).
(1) Before commencing operation, the operator
is encouraged to notify the department field office with jurisdiction over the
facility. The department may provide general assistance, such as locating
bulking agents and providing advice in regard to siting considerations such as
pad location, sizing and design, to facilities notifying the department and
requesting assistance.
(2) Farm
animals known or suspected to have died from an infectious disease that can be
spread by scavengers or insects or that died from a reportable disease shall be
disposed of in accordance with the requirements of the Iowa department of
agriculture and land stewardship and the department.
(3) Transportation vehicles shall be
constructed to prevent the release of mortality contaminated materials under
normal operating conditions. The most direct haul route that avoids biosecurity
risks shall be utilized.
(4) The
composting facility shall be designed to accommodate at least the average
annual death loss for all sites using the composting facility. Facility design
shall also take into account space requirements for managing raw materials
(e.g., additional bedding and bulking agents needed for mortality composting)
and finished compost.
(5) Animal
mortalities from a catastrophic event, such as a fire or electrical outage,
shall not be composted until the department field office is contacted and
arrangements are approved for the appropriate treatment or disposal of the
animals. The facility shall contact the department field office with
jurisdiction over the facility as soon as possible after such a catastrophic
event occurs to receive approval of the disposal option.
(6) Dead farm animals shall be incorporated
into the composting process within 24 hours of death. An adequate base layer
(from 12 to 24 inches thick, depending on the size and number of dead farm
animals) with 6 to 12 inches of bulking agent between carcasses and an
additional 12 inches of cover material shall be maintained around carcasses at
all times to control mortality leachate and odors and to prevent access by
scavenging domestic and wild animals.
(7) Dead farm animals shall not be removed
from composting until all soft tissue is fully decomposed.
(8) Compost (including bones that have not
fully decomposed) shall be applied to cropland in a manner that minimizes the
runoff into a water of the state. Application of the compost to lands other
than cropland shall require prior approval by the
department.
