Bay Journal

Set a time frame for ban on applying animal waste

Set a time frame for ban on applying animal waste

Mr. Kenneth Carter is absolutely correct, in his commentary that stated, "Alternative uses [for animal waste - poultry litter, sewage sludge and manure] need to be examined and widely supported through federal, state, university and user group efforts." (See "Don't ban land application of manure; seek alternative uses first," March 2011.)

The land application of animal waste causes about 25 percent of the Bay's nitrogen pollution. This pollution can be eliminated far less expensively than from any other source.

My advocacy that the land application of animal waste be banned "with the stroke of a pen" does not necessarily mean imposing the ban at the time the pen strokes. Setting a realistic time frame to phase in a ban will encourage the development of "alternative uses" (gasification, pyrolysis, fluidized bed oxidation, thermal depolymerization, etc.) by ensuring that the raw material will be available. A carbon tax on fossil fuel or cap-and-trade for carbon emissions would also encourage the use of the waste as biofuel to help wean ourselves from the finite reserves of fossil fuels that are causing global climate change.

The EPA has set two deadlines as part of the current Bay TMDL effort, 2017 and 2025. Let the "stroke of the pen" decree that by 2017 the land application of all animal waste must be phosphorus-based, providing for crop needs based on the phosphorus already present in the soil and adding only the amount of phosphorus needed for crop growth.

No science supports the need for phos-phorus fertilization in excess of realistic crop nutrient replacement needs to ensure crop productivity. The only excuse for not

imposing phosphorus-based land application is to a foster cheap waste disposal to

the detriment of water quality. The economics of the few farms that use animal waste must be contrasted with the economic value to society of a healthier Bay.

And let the "stroke of the pen" also decree a ban on the land application of all animal waste by 2025. I challenge the EPA to convince the readership of the Bay Journal and the public why the path outlined above should not be mandated, especially in the case of sewage sludge over which the EPA has regulatory authority.

Dr. Lynton S. Land
Ophelia, VA

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