The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a report indicating that the State Department of Agriculture has been struggling with a backlog of animal feeding permits for the Chesapeake Bay watershed in the state.
The EPA announced it has evaluated states in the massive watershed that feeds into an environmentally sensitive bay that has struggled with run-off related issues that have affected water quality and aquatic life.
The state’s Chesapeake Bay watershed extends along the western end of the state from the Newark area to the southernmost boundary with Maryland. The watershed includes a sizable portion of Sussex County.
The assessment looked at Delaware’s implementation of federal and state regulatory programs. The report also looked into voluntary incentive-based programs to meet the nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollution reduction commitments in its Watershed Implementation Plan under the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load or TMDL.
EPA stated that it will use the assessment along with its ongoing Chesapeake Bay TMDL evaluations to help ensure that Delaware has the programs, policies, and resources necessary to succeed with its plan to meet the Chesapeake Bay TMDL.
The assessment found that Delaware’s Nutrient Management Program regulates more than 1,000 farms throughout the state, including both crop and livestock farms.
While regulated farms are required to develop and implement nutrient management plans, farmers are not required to submit them to the Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) for review or approval.
The state ag department assists farmers in complying with their nutrient management plans, but does not take enforcement actions for noncompliance.
The DDA is currently addressing several deficiencies in its data systems to improve its accounting of the number of farmers that are covered under the regulations and the level of compliance with the nutrient management regulations, an EPA release noted.
The assessment found that Delaware’s Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations program has issued only one CAFO permit since 2010, with a backlog of approximately 440 farms that have applied for and are waiting to receive CAFO permits.
Delaware has committed to register 150 CAFOs under its permit program by the end of 2015.
In addition, the assessment found that Delaware is relying heavily on voluntary agricultural cost-share programs to increase implementation of conservation practices and on better data collection efforts to document those practices that are already on the ground.
Delaware Department of Agriculture spokesman Dan Shortridge issued the following statement in response to the EPA report.
“We are making a lot of progress toward everyone’s shared goals of improving our water quality and achieving economic sustainability for our family farmers, and the report from the EPA reflects this. Farmers want the same thing everyone does – a better environment – and have been working for many years in putting these practices in place on their land. We are optimistic that the best management practices already in place on many farms will make significant progress toward meeting the agricultural goals. Delaware has long been a leader in agricultural conservation efforts with our nutrient management initiatives, and while there is still plenty of work to be done, science will continue to be our guide.”
Along with the Delaware assessment, EPA also released its evaluations today of animal agriculture programs in Maryland and West Virginia. The agency issued similar reports on animal agriculture programs in New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia earlier this year.
