Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0400-40-05-.14 - ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS

(1) In addition to the applicable provisions of Rules 0400-40-05-.01 through 0400-40-05-.13, CAFOs are also subject to the provisions of this rule.

(2) AFOs meeting or exceeding the size thresholds in the second column of TABLE 0400-40-05.14.1 are considered large (Class I) CAFOs.

(3) AFOs within the size thresholds given in the third column of TABLE 0400-40-05-.14.1 are considered medium (Class II) CAFOs if either of the following conditions are met:

(a) Pollutants are discharged into waters through a man-made ditch, flushing system, or other similar man-made device; or

(b) Pollutants are discharged directly into waters that originate outside of and pass over, across, or through the facility or otherwise come into direct contact with the animals confined in the operation.

TABLE 0400-40-05-.14.1

Animal Type	Large (Class I) CAFO	Medium (Class II) CAFO
Mature dairy cows (milked or dry)	700+	200 - 699
Veal calves	1000+	300 - 999
Cattle1	1000+	300 - 999
Swine	2,500+ (>=55 lbs) 10,000 (< 55 lbs)	750 - 2,499 (>=55 lbs) 3,000 - 9,999 (< 55 lbs)
Chickens (liquid waste management)	30,000+ (laying hens or broilers)	9,000 - 29,999
Chickens (dry waste management2)	125,000+ (non-layers ) 82,000+ (layers)	37,500 - 124,999 (non-layers) 25,000 - 81,999 (layers)
Horses	500+	150 - 499
Sheep/lambs	10,000+	3,000 - 9,999
Turkeys	55,000+	16,500 - 54,999
Ducks (liquid waste management)	5,000+	1,500 - 4,999
Ducks (dry waste management2)	30,000+	10,000 - 29,999

¹ Other than mature dairy cows or veal calves. Cattle includes, but is not limited to, heifers, steers, bulls, and cow/calf pairs.

² Dry waste management refers to systems where continuously overflowing watering systems are not used and birds are raised in an enclosed building with earthen or concrete floors spread with layer of sawdust, wood shavings, rice hulls, or chopped straw.

(4) Other AFOs may be designated as CAFOs at the discretion of the Director. Factors to be considered in this determination include the AFO's size; the amount of waste reaching waters of the state; the location of the AFO; the means of waste conveyance to waters of the state; and the slope, vegetation, rainfall, and other factors affecting the likelihood or frequency of discharge of animal wastes into waters of the state. The Director shall conduct an on-site inspection prior to determining that an operation should be regulated under the CAFO permit program. AFOs below the threshold for a medium CAFO (shown in the third column in TABLE 0400-40-05-.14.1) may not be designated as a CAFO unless:

(a) Pollutants are discharged into waters through a man-made ditch, flushing system, or other similar man-made device; or

(b) Pollutants are discharged directly into waters that originate outside of and pass over, across, or through the facility or otherwise come into direct contact with the animals confined in the operation.

(5) The following AFOs shall seek permit coverage as follows:

(a) Large, medium, and designated CAFOs that discharge shall obtain an individual NPDES permit and the permit shall be in effect prior to any discharge.

(b) Large AFOs, based on the animal numbers located in TABLE 0400-40-05-.14 -1, that utilize liquid waste management systems, shall obtain coverage under a state permit.

(6) All AFOs seeking to obtain NPDES permit coverage shall submit application information in accordance with paragraph (2) of Rule 0400-40-05-.05.

(a) All AFOs seeking to obtain permit coverage shall submit application information to the Commissioner.

(b) In addition to the application requirements of paragraph (2) of Rule 0400-40-05-.05, AFOs seeking permit coverage shall submit, at the time of application, a nutrient management plan as outlined in paragraph (10) of this rule.

(7) (Reserved).

(8) AFOs seeking to maintain permit coverage shall comply with the permit reissuance requirements of paragraph (5) of Rule 0400-40-05-.05.

(9) AFOs obtaining permit coverage shall develop and maintain a current approved nutrient management plan and have all measures, structures, etc., in place to fully implement the plan upon the date of permit coverage. Any NPDES permit issued to an AFO shall require compliance with the terms of the AFO's site-specific nutrient management plan such that the plan is enforceable through the permit.

(10) Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) Requirements.

(a) Any permit issued to an AFO shall include a requirement to develop, submit and obtain Commissioner approval of, and keep on site a site-specific nutrient management plan that:

1. Includes best management practices and procedures necessary to implement applicable effluent limitations and standards;

2. Ensures adequate storage of manure, litter, and process wastewater including procedures to ensure proper operation and maintenance of the storage facilities;

3. Ensures proper management of mortalities (i.e., dead animals) so that they are not disposed of in a liquid manure, stormwater, or process wastewater storage or treatment system that is not specifically designed to treat animal mortalities as outlined in USDA-NRCS Conservation Practice Standard 316 (February 2016) and/or the USDA-NRCS Agricultural Waste Management Handbook (April 1992), and/or University of Tennessee Extension publications;

4. Ensures that clean water is diverted, as appropriate, from the production area;

5. Prevents direct contact of confined animals with waters of the state;

6. Ensures that chemicals and other contaminants handled on-site are not disposed of in any manure, litter, process wastewater, or stormwater storage or treatment system unless specifically designed to treat such chemicals and other contaminants;

7. Identifies appropriate site-specific conservation practices to be implemented, including, as appropriate, buffers or equivalent practices, to control runoff of pollutants to waters of the state (these practices shall meet minimum standards set in the USDA-NRCS National Engineering Handbook (May 2014) and/or the USDA-NRCS Agricultural Waste Management Handbook (April 1992)), as follows:

(i) Manure, litter, and process wastewater shall be applied no closer than 100 feet to any down-gradient surface waters, open tile line intake structures, sinkholes, agricultural well heads, or other conduits to surface waters unless:

(I) The AFO substitutes the 100-foot setback with a 35-foot-wide vegetated buffer or by leaving in place a 60-foot natural riparian buffer, where applications of manure, litter, or process wastewater are prohibited; or

(II) The AFO demonstrates that a setback or buffer is not necessary because implementation of alternative conservation practices or field-specific conditions will provide pollutant reductions equivalent to or better than the reductions that would be achieved by the 100-foot setback;

(ii) Manure, litter, and process wastewater shall be applied no closer than 100 feet of any potable well, public or private; and

(iii) AFOs that are located adjacent to exceptional Tennessee waters and outstanding national resource waters (as identified by the Department), shall leave in place a minimum 60-foot natural riparian buffer between the stream and the land application area.

8. Provides for annual manure analysis for nitrogen and phosphorus content, following University of Tennessee Extension guidelines, and soil analysis at a minimum of once every five years for phosphorus content (the results of these analyses are to be used in determining application rates for manure, litter, and other process wastewater);

9. Establishes protocols to land apply manure, litter, or process wastewater in accordance with site-specific nutrient management practices that ensure appropriate agricultural utilization of the nutrients in the manure, litter, or process wastewater. Application rates for manure, litter, and other process wastewater applied to land under the ownership or operational control of the AFO shall minimize phosphorus and nitrogen transport from the field to surface waters in compliance with technical standards for nutrient management that:

(i) Include a field-specific assessment of the potential for nitrogen and phosphorus transport from the field to surface waters, and address the form, source, amount, timing, and method of application of nutrients on each field to achieve realistic production goals, while minimizing nitrogen and phosphorus movement to surface waters, that employs the Tennessee Phosphorus Index (a tool developed by the University of Tennessee Extension Service and the USDA-NRCS to assess the risk of phosphorus movement from the application area to waters of the state); and

(ii) Include appropriate flexibilities for any AFO to implement nutrient management practices to comply with the technical standards, including consideration of multi-year phosphorus application on fields that do not have a high potential for phosphorus runoff to surface water, phased implementation of phosphorus-based nutrient management, and other components, in consideration of recommendations from the University of Tennessee Extension and as determined appropriate by the Director;

10. Provides for periodic inspection of equipment used for land application of manure, litter, and other process wastewater; and

11. Includes a closure/rehabilitation plan for the waste system storage/treatment structure(s) that meets or exceeds applicable USDA-NRCS technical standards and guidelines, and, at a minimum, addresses maintenance of the facility until proper closure is completed and includes a proposed schedule for closure not to exceed 360 days.

(b) Nutrient management plan terms.

The terms of the nutrient management plan are the information, protocols, best management practices, and other conditions in the nutrient management plan determined by the Director to be necessary to implement the nutrient management plan. The terms of the nutrient management plan, with respect to protocols that ensure appropriate agricultural utilization of the nutrients in the manure, litter, or process wastewater, shall include the fields available for land application; field-specific rates of application properly developed through either the linear approach or the narrative approach; and any timing limitations identified in the nutrient management plan concerning land application on the fields available for land application.

1. Linear approach

An approach that expresses rates of application as pounds of nitrogen and phosphorus, according to the following specifications:

(i) The terms include:

(I) Maximum application rates from manure, litter, and process wastewater for each year of permit coverage and for each crop identified in the nutrient management plan, in terms of total nitrogen and phosphorus, in pounds per acre, per year, for each field to be used for land application;

(II) The outcome of the field-specific assessment of the potential for nitrogen and phosphorus transport from each field as described in subpart (a)9.(i) of this paragraph;

(III) The crops to be planted in each field or any other uses of a field such as pasture or fallow fields; the realistic yield goal for each crop or use identified for each field;

(IV) The nitrogen and phosphorus recommendations as recommended by the University of Tennessee Extension for each crop or use identified for each field;

(V) Credits for all residual nitrogen in the field that will be plant-available as recommended by the University of Tennessee Extension;

(VI) Consideration of multi-year phosphorus application in accordance with subpart (a)9.(ii) of this paragraph;

(VII) An accounting of all other additions of plant-available nitrogen and phosphorus to the field;

(VIII) The form and source of manure, litter, and process wastewater to be land-applied;

(IX) The timing and method of land application; and

(X) The methodology by which the nutrient management plan accounts for the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in the manure, litter, and process wastewater to be applied as described in part (a)8. of this paragraph.

(ii) Large AFOs that use this approach shall calculate the maximum amount of manure, litter, and process wastewater to be land-applied at least once each year using the results of the most recent representative manure, litter, and process wastewater tests for nitrogen and phosphorus taken within 12 months of the date of land application.

2. Narrative rate approach

An approach that expresses rates of application as a narrative rate of application that results in the amount, in tons or gallons, of manure, litter, and process wastewater to be land-applied, according to the following specifications:

(i) The terms include:

(I) Maximum amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus derived from all sources of nutrients, for each crop identified in the nutrient management plan, in terms of total nitrogen and phosphorus, in pounds per acre, for each field, and certain factors necessary to determine such amounts;

(II) The outcome of the field-specific assessment of the potential for nitrogen and phosphorus transport from each field as described in subpart (a)9.(i) of this paragraph;

(III) The crops to be planted in each field or any other uses such as pasture or fallow fields (including alternative crops identified in subpart (iii) of this part;

(IV) The realistic yield goal for each crop or use identified for each field; and

(V) The nitrogen and phosphorus recommendations as recommended by the University of Tennessee Extension for each crop or use identified for each field.

(ii) The terms include the methodology by which the nutrient management plan accounts for the following factors when calculating the amounts of manure, litter, and process wastewater to be land-applied:

(I) Results of soil tests conducted in accordance with protocols identified in part (a)8. of this paragraph;

(II) Credits for all residual nitrogen in the field that will be plant-available as recommended by the University of Tennessee;

(III) The amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in the manure, litter, and process wastewater to be applied;

(IV) Consideration of multi-year phosphorus application in accordance with subpart (a)9.(ii) of this paragraph;

(V) Accounting for all other additions of plant-available nitrogen and phosphorus to the field;

(VI) The form and source of manure, litter, and process wastewater;

(VII) The timing, except as described in subpart (iv) of this part, and method of land application; and (VIII) Volatilization of nitrogen and mineralization of organic nitrogen.

(iii) The terms of the nutrient management plan include alternative crops identified in the AFO's nutrient management plan that are not in the planned crop rotation. Where an AFO includes alternative crops in its nutrient management plan, the crops shall be listed by field, in addition to the crops identified in the planned crop rotation for that field, and the nutrient management plan shall include realistic crop yield goals and the nitrogen and phosphorus recommendations as recommended by the University of Tennessee for each crop. Maximum amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus from all sources of nutrients and the amounts of manure, litter, and process wastewater to be applied shall be determined in accordance with the methodology described in items (ii)(I) through (VIII) of this part.

(iv) For AFOs using this approach, the following projections shall be included in the nutrient management plan submitted to the Director, but are not terms of the nutrient management plan: The AFO's planned crop rotations for each field for the period of permit coverage; the projected amount of manure, litter, or process wastewater to be applied; projected credits for all nitrogen in the field that will be plant-available; consideration of multi-year phosphorus application; accounting for all other additions of plant-available nitrogen and phosphorus to the field; and the predicted form, source, and method of application of manure, litter, and process wastewater for each crop. Timing of application for each field, insofar as it concerns the calculation of rates of application, is not a term of the nutrient management plan.

(v) AFOs that use this approach shall calculate maximum amounts of manure, litter, and process wastewater to be land-applied at least once each year using the methodology required in subpart (ii) of this part before landapplying manure, litter and process wastewater and shall rely on the following data:

(I) A field-specific determination of soil levels of nitrogen and phosphorus, including, for nitrogen, a concurrent determination of nitrogen that will be plant-available consistent with the methodology required by subpart (ii) of this part, and for phosphorus, the results of the most recent soil test conducted in accordance with soil testing requirements approved by the Commissioner; and

(II) The results of the most recent representative manure, litter, and process wastewater tests for nitrogen and phosphorus taken within 12 months of the date of land application, in order to determine the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in the manure, litter, and process wastewater to be applied.

(c) Changes to a nutrient management plan.

1. Any NPDES permit issued to an AFO shall require the following procedures when an AFO owner or operator makes changes to the AFO's nutrient management plan previously submitted to the Director:

(i) The AFO owner or operator shall provide the Director with the most current version of the AFO's nutrient management plan and identify changes from the previous version, except that the results of calculations made in accordance with the requirements of subparts (b)1.(ii) and (b)2.(v) of this paragraph are not considered to be changes to the nutrient management plan subject to the requirements of this paragraph.

(ii) The Director shall review the revised nutrient management plan to ensure that it meets the requirements of this paragraph and applicable effluent limitations and standards and shall determine whether the changes to the nutrient management plan include revision to the terms of the nutrient management plan as set forth in subparagraph (b) of this paragraph. If the terms of the nutrient management plan are not revised, the Director shall notify the AFO owner or operator and upon such notification the AFO may implement the revised nutrient management plan. If the terms of the nutrient management plan are revised, the Director shall determine whether such changes are substantial changes as described in part 2. of this subparagraph.

(iii) If the Director determines that the changes to the terms of the nutrient management plan are not substantial, the Director shall make the revised nutrient management plan publicly available and include it in the permit record and inform the public of any changes to the terms of the nutrient management plan.

(iv) If the Director determines that the changes to the terms of the nutrient management plan are substantial, the Director shall notify the public and make the proposed changes and the information submitted by the AFO owner or operator available for public review and comment. The process for public notice and participation shall follow the procedures applicable to draft permits set forth in Rule 0400-40-05-.06. The Director shall consider all significant comments received during the comment period and require the AFO owner or operator to further revise the nutrient management plan if necessary. Once the Director approves the revised terms of the nutrient management plan, the Director shall issue a notice of determination that addresses all comments received and notifies the owner or operator and the public of the final decision concerning revisions to the nutrient management plan.

2. Substantial changes to the terms of a nutrient management plan incorporated as terms and conditions of a permit include, but are not limited to:

(i) Addition of new land application areas not previously included in the AFO's nutrient management plan or in the terms of a nutrient management plan incorporated into an existing NPDES permit. If the AFO owner or operator applies manure, litter, or process wastewater on the newly added land application area in accordance with existing field-specific permit terms applicable to the newly added land application area, such addition of new land would be a change to the new AFO owner or operator's nutrient management plan but not a substantial change for purposes of this paragraph;

(ii) Any changes to the field-specific maximum annual rates for land application set in accordance with the linear approach, or to the maximum amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus derived from all sources for each crop set in accordance with the narrative approach;

(iii) Addition of any crop or other uses not included in the terms of the AFO's nutrient management plan and corresponding field-specific rates of application; and

(iv) Changes to site-specific components of the AFO's nutrient management plan, where such changes are likely to increase the risk of nitrogen and phosphorus transport to waters of the state.

3. AFOs covered by state operating permits are subject to the following procedures when the AFO owner or operator makes changes to the AFO's nutrient management plan previously submitted to the Director:

(i) The AFO owner or operator shall provide the Director with the most current version of the AFO's nutrient management plan and identify changes from the previous version.

(ii) The Director shall review the revised nutrient management plan to ensure that it meets the requirements of this paragraph and applicable effluent standards and shall determine whether the changes to the nutrient management plan include revisions to the terms of the nutrient management plan as set forth in subparagraph (b) of this paragraph. The Director shall advise the AFO owner or operator whether the changes meet the requirements of this paragraph and applicable effluent standards. Upon such notification, the AFO owner or operator shall either make further revisions to the nutrient management plan or implement the revised nutrient management plan.

(iii) Operational changes that require nutrient management plan revision, resubmittal, and approval, include:

(I) Additional confinement buildings, settling basins, lagoons, holding ponds, or pits, and other agricultural waste containment/treatment structures or handling systems;

(II) The addition of new fields for land application of manure, or the removal of existing fields;

(III) A substantial increase in the amount of manure produced by the operation such that the current nutrient management plan does not adequately account for the increase;

(IV) Alternative crops that were not mentioned in the previous nutrient management plan; or

(V) Increases in the total amount of nitrogen and phosphorus for each crop for a narrative plan.

(11) Recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

Any NPDES permit issued to an AFO shall include:

(a) A requirement that the permittee shall create, maintain for five years, and make available to the Director, upon request, the following records:

1. Records documenting the implementation and management of the minimum elements described in subparagraph (10)(a) of this rule and all applicable records identified in parts 2. through 18. of this subparagraph;

2. A copy of the AFO's site-specific nutrient management plan;

3. Records documenting the following visual inspections:

(i) Weekly inspections of all stormwater diversion devices, runoff diversion structures, and devices channeling contaminated stormwater to the wastewater and manure storage and containment structure;

(ii) Daily inspections of water lines, including drinking or cooling water lines; and

(iii) Weekly inspections of the manure, litter, and process wastewater impoundments noting the liquid level in the impoundments;

4. Weekly records of the depth of the manure and process wastewater in any open surface liquid impoundment as indicated by the required depth marker that indicates the minimum capacity necessary to contain the runoff and direct precipitation of the 25-year, 24-hour rainfall event. In the case of swine or poultry AFOs that are new sources, the depth marker shall indicate minimum capacity necessary to contain the runoff and direct precipitation associated with the 25-year, 24-hour rainfall event used for sizing the impoundment;

5. Records documenting any corrective actions taken (if deficiencies are not corrected within 30 days of notice of deficiency, the records shall include an explanation of the factors preventing immediate correction);

6. Records of mortalities management and practices used to comply with the nutrient management plan;

7. Records documenting the current design of any manure or litter storage structures, including volume for solids accumulation, design treatment volume, total design volume, and approximate number of days of storage capacity;

8. Records of the date, time, and estimated volume of any overflow;

9. Expected and actual crop yields;

10. The date(s) manure, litter, or process wastewater is applied to each field;

11. Weather conditions at the time of application and for 24 hours prior to and following application;

12 Test methods used to sample and analyze manure, litter, process wastewater, and soil;

13. Results from manure, litter, process wastewater, and soil sampling;

14. Explanation of the basis for determining manure application rates, as provided in the technical standards established by the University of Tennessee Extension or as otherwise approved by the Director or the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and consistent with applicable state and federal rules;

15. Calculations showing the total nitrogen and phosphorus to be applied to each field, including sources other than manure, litter, or process wastewater;

16. Total amount of nitrogen and phosphorus actually applied to each field, including documentation of calculations for the total amount applied;

17. The method used to apply the manure, litter, or process wastewater; and

18. Date(s) of manure application equipment inspection and calibration.

(b) Recordkeeping for third-party waste transfers.

A requirement that prior to transferring manure, litter, or process wastewater to a third party, all NPDES-permitted AFOs shall provide the recipient of the manure, litter, or process wastewater with the most current nutrient analysis (consistent with 40 CFR Part 412 (2021) and approved by the University of Tennessee Extension). Large NPDES-permitted AFOs shall ensure that the third party signs an agreement for the removal of manure, litter, or process wastewater for all transfers of manure, litter, or process wastewater. All other NPDES-permitted AFOs shall ensure that the third party signs an agreement for the removal of manure, litter, or process wastewater only if the AFO transfers more than 100 tons of manure, litter, or process wastewater. The agreement for the removal of manure, litter, or process wastewater shall be retained for five years and shall include the following information, at a minimum:

1. The name and location of the facility that is exporting manure, litter, or process wastewater;

2. The type and amount of material that is removed from the AFO;

3. The date the material was removed from the AFO;

4. The following best management practice recommendations:

(i) The manure, litter, or process wastewater shall be managed to ensure there is no discharge of manure, litter, or process wastewater to surface or groundwater;

(ii) When removed from the facility, manure, litter, or process wastewater should be applied directly to the field or stockpiled and covered with plastic or stored in a building;

(iii) Manure, litter, or process wastewater shall not be stockpiled near streams, sinkholes, wetlands, or wells;

(iv) Fields receiving manure, litter, or process wastewater should be soil tested at least every five years;

(v) A manure, litter, or process wastewater nutrient analysis should be used to determine application rates for various crops;

(vi) Calibrate spreading equipment and apply manure, litter, or process wastewater uniformly;

(vii) Apply no more nitrogen or phosphorus than can be used by the crop;

(viii) A buffer zone is recommended between the application sites and adjacent streams, lakes, ponds, sinkholes, and wells. The following non-application buffer widths, based on the USDA-NRCS Conservation Practice Standard 590 (January 2013 version, or most recent version), should be used when applicable:

(I) 150 ft. from wells located upslope of the application site;

(II) 300 ft. from wells located downslope of the application site, if conditions warrant application;

(III) 30-100 ft. from waterbodies, depending on the amount and quality of vegetation and slope;

(IV) 300 ft. from all public use areas; and

(V) 300 ft. from all residences other than the third-party recipient's.

(ix) Do not apply manure, litter, or process wastewater when the ground is frozen, flooded, saturated, or on steep slopes subject to flooding, erosion, or rapid runoff;

(x) Cover vehicles hauling manure, litter, or process wastewater on public roads; and

(xi) Keep records of locations where manure, litter, or process wastewater will be land-applied or used as a fertilizer; and

5. A signed certification statement from the recipient of the material from the AFO, including the recipient's name, address, and phone number.

(c) A requirement that NPDES-permitted AFOs submit to the Department, an annual report between January 1 and February 15 that includes:

1. The number and type of animals on site, whether in open confinement or housed under roof;

2. Estimated amount of total manure, litter, and process wastewater generated by the AFO in the previous calendar year (tons or gallons);

3. Estimated amount of total manure, litter, and process wastewater transferred to a third party by the AFO in the previous calendar year (tons or gallons);

4. Total number of acres for land application covered by the nutrient management plan;

5. Total number of acres under control of the AFO that were used for land application of manure, litter, and process wastewater in the previous calendar year;

6. A summary of all manure, litter, and process wastewater discharges to waters of the state from the production area that have occurred in the previous calendar year, including date, time, and approximate volume;

7. A statement indicating whether the current version of the AFO's nutrient management plan was developed or approved by a certified nutrient management planner;

8. The actual crop(s) planted and actual yield(s) for each field;

9. The actual nitrogen and phosphorus content of the manure, litter, and process wastewater;

10. The results of calculations to determine the maximum amount of manure, litter, and process wastewater to be land-applied and the data used in the calculations;

11. The actual amount of manure, litter, and process wastewater applied during the previous 12 months;

12. The results of any soil tests for nitrogen and phosphorus conducted in the previous 12 months; and

13. The amount of any supplemental fertilizer applied during the previous 12 months.

(12) For AFOs with applicable federal effluent guidelines, technology-based effluent limitations and standards in accordance with those guidelines shall be applied.

(13) For AFOs that are not subject to applicable federal effluent guidelines, the production area shall be designed, constructed, operated, and maintained so that no discharge will occur, except as authorized through the conditions of an NPDES permit.

(14) Permitted facilities placed into operation after April 13, 2006 must be designed, constructed, operated, and maintained in accordance with final design plans and specifications that meet or exceed standards in the USDA-NRCS Agricultural Waste Management Field Handbook (April 1992), the USDA-NRCS National Engineering Handbook (May 2014), or other defensible methodology approved by the Division. Specifically, plans shall contain the following:

(a) Any new or additional confinement buildings, waste/wastewater handling system, waste/wastewater transport structures, waste/wastewater treatment structures, settling basins, lagoons, holding ponds, sumps, or pits, and other agricultural waste containment/treatment structures constructed after April 13, 2006, shall be located in accordance with USDA-NRCS Conservation Practice Standard 313 (August 2018);

(b) Information to be used in the design of the open manure storage structure including, but not limited to, minimum storage for rainy seasons, minimum capacity for chronic rainfall events, the prohibition of land application to frozen, saturated, or snow-covered ground, the dewatering schedules set in the AFO's Nutrient Management Plan, additional storage capacity for any manure intended to be transferred to another recipient at a later time, and any other factors that would affect the sizing of the open manure storage structure;

(c) The design of the open manure storage structure as determined by the USDA-NRCS's Animal Waste Management (AWM) software (version 2.4). AFOs may use equivalent design software or procedures as approved in writing by the Commissioner;

(d) All inputs used in the open manure storage structure design including actual climate data for the previous 30 years consisting of historical average monthly precipitation and evaporation values, the number and types of animals, anticipated animal sizes or weights, any added water and bedding, any other process wastewater, and the size and condition of outside areas exposed to rainfall and contributing runoff to the open manure storage structure;

(e) The planning minimum period of storage in months including, but not limited to, the factors for designing an open manure storage structure listed in subparagraph (b) of this paragraph. Alternatively, the AFO may determine the minimum period of storage by specifying times the storage pond will be emptied consistent with the AFO's nutrient management plan; and

(f) A subsurface investigation for earthen holding pond, pit, sump, treatment lagoon, or other earthen storage/containment structure suitability and liner requirements shall be a component of the system design. The subsurface investigation will include a detailed soils investigation with special attention to the water table depth and seepage potential. The investigation shall evaluate soils to a depth of two feet below the planned bottom grade of the storage structure. Deeper investigations may be required in karst regions. A soils/geologic investigation shall be performed by a soil scientist (as described in Rule 0400-48-01-.18 ) and qualified geologist. A qualified geologist is defined as an individual who is a Registered Professional Geologist licensed by the State of Tennessee or an individual who meets the requirements for the title of Certified Professional Geologist as defined by the American Institute of Professional Geologists. Unless relevant information is available to the contrary, compliance with this provision during design and construction of the facility will normally demonstrate that the hydrologic connection does not exceed a maximum allowable specific discharge of 0.0028 ft/day (1 x 10-6 cm/sec).

Notes

Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0400-40-05-.14

Original rule filed November 20, 2013; effective February 18, 2014. Amendments filed February 14, 2022; effective 5/15/2022.

Authority: T.C.A. §§ 4-5-201, et seq. and 69-3-101, et seq.