ACRE fulfills the commitment …

• Farms importing manure from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and concentrated animal operations (CAOs) must have signed agreements, nutrient balance sheets documenting allowable application rates, required record keeping, and the same manure applications setbacks and buffers as the farm that produced the manure to protect water resources.
• Nutrient management plan changes will require either a 100-foot setback or a 35-foot permanent vegetative buffer from water for manure application for concentrated animal feeding operations, concentrated animal operations and importing farms.

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       The Governor's veto message said a comprehensive and progressive plan should have …
       … provisions that extend the type of farms that are required to submit nutrient management plans detailing their manure management procedures and application locations to the local conservation district.

       ACRE fulfills the commitment …

• Proposed regulatory changes published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on Aug. 7 increase the number of farming operations considered to be CAOs--and therefore subject to stringent environmental requirements--from 810 to 1,310 by incorporating nonproduction animals, such as horses, and more than double the number of farming operations considered to be CAFOs--and therefore also subject to stringent environmental requirements--from 160 to 350 by incorporating poultry operations and adopting EPA animal threshold numbers.
• The Rendell administration will finance technical assistance programs and increase staff for monitoring and enforcement. DEP will initiate a focused effort to ensure compliance with existing prohibitions against unpermitted discharges to Pennsylvania waters under the state's Clean Streams Law.

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       The Governor's veto message said a comprehensive and progressive plan should have …
       … provisions to require minimum buffer areas where no manure can be applied for all CAFOs and CAOs (the only regulation now is setbacks for storage). Farms that import manure must meet the same buffer requirements as the farm that produces the manure.

       ACRE fulfills the commitment …

• Nutrient management plan changes will require either a 100-foot setback or a 35-foot permanent vegetative buffer from water for manure application for concentrated animal feeding operations, concentrated animal operations and importing farms.
• The state is launching the first-ever exercise to analyze and begin to take action on water quality problems in all "agriculturally impaired" waterways. Water quality assessments document that almost 4,000 miles of streams do not meet designated standards as a result of nutrient and sediment releases from agricultural operations. Farm organizations have offered to assist in outreach so farmers can understand better the linkages between farm operations and water quality challenges, and so stream assessment methodologies can be reviewed and improved.

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       The Governor's veto message said a comprehensive and progressive plan should have …
       … provisions creating financial incentives for farmers who need help in creating buffer areas or in obtaining new technology such as manure digesters.

       ACRE fulfills the commitment …

• Overall, as much as $13 million in new and existing resources will be available for enhanced environmental protection on farms. The funding covers enforcement, technical assistance to farmers, best management practices for odor, air quality and antibiotic research, financial help in meeting new standards for setbacks and buffers, and assistance for advanced energy technologies using biodigesters.

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       The Governor's veto message said a comprehensive and progressive plan should have …
       … provisions giving tax credits to any farmer for the costs of installing the technology necessary to convert manure to energy thus avoiding the need to apply manure to the soil when it is not being used for fertilizer. This technology is being used in Europe and we have already been contacted by an agribusiness that wants to install it in a new operation here in Pennsylvania.

       ACRE fulfills the commitment …

• The Governor already launched the first-ever $5 million annual Pennsylvania Energy Harvest grant program to finance the implementation of clean and renewable energy technologies. Biodigesters can turn potential pollution into a clean energy source. The output from Pennsylvania's hogs and dairy cows can produce 631,000 megawatt-hours of electricity. That's enough to power 86,000 homes or reduce the need for 384,459 barrels of oil, which would fill up more than 500,000 average-sized cars with gasoline--roughly the number of passenger cars registered in Philadelphia.

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       The Governor's also said a comprehensive and progressive plan should balances the needs of farmers with the quality of life concerns of residents and the need to preserve the state's rural character and rural environment. Some of the other elements of ACRE include:

• Agriculture Review Board: Farmers, residents and municipalities will have a forum where they can identify disagreements over existing or planned farming operations in a community. The five-member review board will encourage and support dialogue among differing parties to resolve disputes. The board also will conduct administrative hearings and rule on the legality of certain local ordinances affecting agriculture, if dialogue should fail to resolve issues.
• Best Management Practices for Odor: New and expanding CAFOs and CAOs will be required to put in place best management practices related to construction and operation of farm operations to avoid or mitigate odor problems--among the first such mandatory regulations in the nation. Other farm operations will be encouraged to put the practices into play as well.
• Air Quality: An Agricultural Air Quality Task Force will examine data, review the specific causes of air emission problems related to agriculture and suggest further measures to reduce this potential concern. The task force will provide technical assistance to help farmers address federal air quality requirements. This initiative promotes an open, science-based discussion of air quality issues.
• Antibiotics: DEP and Agriculture are monitoring research and development related to agricultural antibiotics to identify the impact of specific types and the extent of residuals in the environment. The information will be used to guide future policy related to the use of antibiotics in the food system and the potential public health risks.

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