Page 81 - MFB State Annual Meeting 2018 -- RESOLUTIONS BOOK

1.2.1. Use of voluntary best management practices be included in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) nutrient management plans;
1.2.2. Development and use of alternative technology for livestock feeding operations including vegetative treatment areas;
1.2.3. Cost-share programs to offset the cost of building and maintaining lagoons and other waste management systems when farmers are required to build such systems by state and federal regulations;
1.2.4. Laws or regulations absolving farmers from liability claims of environmental pollution when building, managing or operating livestock facilities according to the federal CAFO rules;
1.2.5. Allowing agriculture producers to use herbicides according to label instructions for moss and plant control in canals and ditches without having to obtain a permit;
1.2.6. Manure that has been spread by tank truck, irrigation or spreader at normal agronomic rates should not be considered point source pollution under the provisions of the CWA. The accidental or unintentional discharge of manure should not be considered point-source pollution under the provisions of the CWA;
1.2.7. Any Animal Feeding Operation (AFO) that creates no waste water discharge be exempt from classification as a point source; and
1.2.8. The current qualitative guidance is insufficient to assure that EPA decisions regarding permitting will be fairly and evenly applied.
1.3. We oppose:
1.3.1. Reducing the present federal guidelines for CAFOs to less
than 1,000 animal units;
1.3.2. Revisions to EPA regulations pertaining to the designation of
CAFOs;
1.3.3. Co-permitting for livestock operations;
1.3.4. Requiring AFOs with fewer than 1,000 animal units to develop
an environmental management system (EMS) as a condition to avoid an National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit;
1.3.5. Livestock producers being held responsible for pollution derived from animal nutrients after ownership of the manure has been transferred to another party and removed from the producer's control;
1.3.6. The number of animal units kept in confinement being the sole determining factor in defining a concentrated animal feeding operation;
1.3.7. Mandatory NPDES permits on farms and animal operations that do not discharge;
1.3.8. Efforts to classify a dry litter AFO as a CAFO; and
1.3.9. Any mechanized system or conveyance used to distribute
water, and organic or inorganic compounds to agricultural land
be designated as point-source.
2. Regional Water Quality Initiatives and Total Maximum Daily Loads
(TMDL)
2.1. TMDLs should be scientifically valid, achievable, and economically feasible. If existing state water quality standards do not allow for achievable and economically feasible TMDLs, those standards should be revised. The CWA grants sole authority to states to determine whether, when and how to implement TMDLs. We oppose efforts by EPA to approve, demand or direct state implementation plans either directly or through threats of federal backstops.
2.2. We support voluntary best management practices (BMPs) in the development of implementation plans.
3. Clean Water Act (CWA) Framework and Agricultural Water Quality Programs
3.1. CWA regulates the "discharge of pollutants." We oppose changing the wording, meaning or definition of navigable waters in the CWA, the removal of the term "navigable waters" from the CWA and any attempt to broaden the reach of the CWA. Federal CWA jurisdiction should be limited to navigable streams and flowing waterways that
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