Hog Lagoons Bill Passes the General Assembly This Week

From the Associated Press:
Legislators have given final approval to a measure that would phase out hog lagoons used by swine farmers to manage waste. The open pits, where waste is typically flushed from barns to be later sprayed on fields as fertilizer, have long been considered a menace by environmentalists and neighbors. The Senate voted unanimously to accept House changes to the bill sponsored by Sen. Charlie Albertson, D-Duplin. The measure needs only Gov. Mike Easley's signature to become law. Most of its requirements will become effective Sept. 1.

The bill, which was among several introduced this year to offer a permanent answer to the long-running fight over lagoons, blocks permits for the construction of any new anaerobic lagoon and sprayfield. It orders the state Environmental Management Commission to issue permits only for waste systems that meet high standards governing the elimination of contaminants into water, soil and air. The measure allows a new lagoon to be built to replace an existing one that is in imminent danger of failure, though state regulators insist the parameters are too narrow to allow cheating by farmers who simply want to replace an aging system on the cheap. Hog lagoons have an effective life of about 25 to 30 years.

The bill also allows up to 50 farms to take part in an experimental program to generate electricity by capturing methane emissions from the lagoons. The measure acknowledges the expense of new waste systems with a cost-sharing program for farms that agree to convert to the new technologies.

For the next five years, the state will cover 90 percent of the cost, up to $500,000 for each applicant. The state share drops to 80 percent in 2012 and to 75 percent in 2017. The hope is that, once some farms have the systems in place, the cost will drop as the systems are improved and demand for them grows. North Carolina is second only to Iowa in hog farming, with close to $7 billion in annual sales and 10 million animals.

Read More at News & Observer 07/26/07 New limits are likely for hog-waste lagoons