The US Dept. of Environmental Protection has apparently decided that animal manure is causing water quality issues.
In response, they have come up with some very heavy-handed proposed regulations. There are going to be two meetings in Ocala, FL to discuss the impact of these regulations on Florida farm owners. One meeting is for small farms (1 to 99 acres) and the other for large farms (100 or more acres). Marion County, FL (where Ocala is located) is trying to come up with more acceptable voluntary guidelines to offset the heavy-handed US DEP proposed regulations. There is an article in http://www.GreenBiz.com on how Europeans (especially in the Netherlands) and now the state of Indiana (in conjunction with Perdue University) are coming up with a way to turn animal manure into inexpensive electricity. Given that the US DEP is developing heavy-handed proposals for dealing with disposal of animal manure to help protect water quality, it is reasonable that Florida is only one of 50 states which will be affected by the US DEP regulations. It is therefore prudent for everyone to find out about meetings in their state, and to attend these meetings, and to propose that the US DEP look into developing the same sort of "animal manure into inexpensive electricity" which is now being developed in Indiana (therefore setting a precedent here in the U.S.) and has been/is being done successfully in Europe, especially in The Netherlands. Given that rising costs of electricity being produced by reliance on non-renewable fuels (like coal and natural gas) is an ever-increasing problem, and given that animal manure IS a "renewable source of fuel," it is logical to push for disposal of animal manure in such a way as to provide inexpensive electricity, thereby helping to offset the great expenses to farm owners of building concrete pads to place dumpsters on. If anyone has any questions about what it costs to use dumpsters (emptied weekly) for animal manure disposal as is currently done in several areas of the country, I was contacted privately in response to my "broadcast" by someone in another area who is having to do the dumpster disposal, and who now faces the additional expense of having to put a concrete pad under the dumpster for further protection of the ground water. She has offered to share her experiences if they can help others in the fight to get reasonable government regulations rather than having unreasonable government regulations imposed on us. Does that help? Susan Micanopy, FL In the "GreenBiz" newsletter today, there is a good article on converting manure into inexpensive electrical energy (see below for link and article). It helps to reduce dependence on non-renewable energy sources, helps to provide a very good means of eliminating animal manure, and produces inexpensive energy for the farms and homes in the area. Apparently this is already being done in Europe, especially in the Netherlands. This helps to solve current perceived problems in a much more cost-effective and beneficial way than our American governments are currently accustomed to considering. The article refers to the project now being done in Indiana via Purdue University, industry, and city and county governments, so there is currently precedence here in the U.S. which should make it easier to help get the same sort of program implemented in Florida and other states. I believe it would behoove us to contact our states' Universities as well as State and County governments and the equine industry leaders to look into the feasibility of doing the same sort of thing in our areas. I sincerely doubt that horse farm owners would care much for the very expensive Palm Beach County (FL) solution (also now implemented in other areas of the nation). At least this way everyone benefits from inexpensive electricity produced by the process of manure disposal, thus helping to alleviate the costs of something we'll probably have to do anyway while producing benefits to all. This new "manure into electricity" program could help alleviate expensive manure disposal problems for horse farms and help reduce expenses for horse farms via production of inexpensive electricity, while at the same time helping to protect the purity of our potable water supply. And this could be a good way to refute the currently proposed US Dept of Environmental Protection regulations. Just something to consider and explore further as an option to passively allowing the Federal and State and County Governments to impose yet further expensive burdens on our equine and agricultural industries (we already have enough to worry about with NAIS - National Animal Identification System) - please feel free to forward and cross-post. ---------------------------------------- NOTICE OF UPCOMING MEETINGS IN OCALA FEB 27 & MARCH 1 FOR FARM OWNERS/ MANAGERS: To horse people, and other ag.folks--cattle, dairy, goats etc-- I just thought you might be interested in what Marion County's Ag. Extension Office (notice below) and the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection (see attachment) are planning for us in the coming year. The focus group meeting mentioned below concerns us all, as the draft regulations that are contained in the attachment will apply to all of the State of Florida. Note that the invitation to the focus groups suggests 8 participants, but I'm thinking that if a couple hundred of us spoke up, they might get a better idea of how we feel about all of these regulations! Meanwhile, the Marion County Soil and Water Commission has been working very hard to develop VOLUNTARY programs to help Marion County horse farmers get a handle on the amount of nitrates that our manure piles generate--I think we all agree that nobody wants to threaten the quality of the water in our wells. However, the Soil and Water folks are dismayed to see the heavy-handed regulations that may be coming our way..... If you want to be heard, it might be worth an email or phone call to [EMAIL PROTECTED] at the Marion County Extension Office, 352-671-8400. (The office is next to the big Southeast Livestock Pavilion on Jacksonville Road, Ocala, and the meetings are on Tuesday February 27th and Thursday, March 1st.) Just explain to Ms Nelson that you've seen the notice about the focus groups, and if you've missed your chance to get in on the dates listed, does she know when they are planning to hold another meeting, in a larger venue, to hear what all of the rest of us have to say? Ask her how you can participate,and please, be polite; Ms Nelson is not the one responsible for creating or implementing the plans. If you care to learn more about the federal (national) regulations/guidelines on large animal lots, you should be able to find them somewhere on the DEP website. Failing that, you can go through the Freedom of Information Act and get them that way. Remember this: the DEP is a regulatory agency, so this process is designed to help them formulate mandatory regulations. Feel free to share this information; all government proceedings in Florida are subject to the "Florida Sunshine Law." Subject: Clean Farms Focus Groups from: Marion County Extension Office ..."We have reserved a classroom at the Extension Office for clean farms focus groups from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 27 and Thursday, March 1. We plan to serve lunch to encourage attendance. As we discussed at our meeting to hear survey results, we will target the Feb. 27 focus group to owners of small and medium-sized farms (1-99 acres) and the March 1 focus group to owners and managers of farms of 100 acres and larger. The success of these focus groups will rest on our ability to contact potential participants and get them to show up. I know from experience this is more difficult than it might appear. I'm counting on your help. Would you please email names of good candidates to me by the end of this week? Please note whether they should be invited to the small/ medium farm focus group or to the large farm focus group, as well as whether you will invite them or we should call. (If you know a potential participant personally, it would help if you would extend the invitation as we are more likely to get acceptance that way.) We would like to have eight participants in each group, which means we need to get 10-12 acceptances, as there will be some no- shows..." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------- Below is the link, and the article from GreenBiz.com: http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=34492 -------------------------------------------------------------- This story was printed from News, located at http://www.greenbiz.com/news/. -------------------------------------------------------------- Industries, Universities and Local Governments Team Up to Turn Waste Into Watts Source: http://www.GreenBiz.com FRANKFORT, Ind., Jan. 25, 2007 - Industrial and farm waste soon may supply electricity for thousands of people because of an economic development collaboration of experts from Purdue University, industry, and city and county governments. To make this a reality and to curb natural gas and petroleum use, planners and scientists from Purdue, central Indiana's Clinton County and city of Frankfort, and industries Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) and Indiana Clean Energy LLC (ICE) are joining forces to use waste to produce methane for conversion to electricity. Two separate facilities will be built - one for industrial waste conversion and another for hog waste - with the goal of having plants in operation by spring 2008. "We're bringing together pieces of industry and agriculture to optimize the energy potential in waste," said Ron Turco, Purdue environmental microbiologist. "We want this project located in an area that takes full advantage of the available waste generated by the area's industrial base." The center of the industrial waste-to-energy part of the project will be the Clinton County Industrial Park, located west of Frankfort and east of Interstate 65. ADM and ICE are among companies located in the park and participating in plans for the facility. The planners anticipate that the project will entice more industry to the area, spurring economic growth. The overall plan is designed to contribute to gaining energy independence from non-renewable fossil fuel, providing an economic development platform, and creating teaching and research opportunities. One facility would convert food and plant waste into methane. A second facility, which would convert hog manure into methane, would be at another site centrally located to existing hog farms. The methane generated at the facilities would be used to produce electricity. "These projects will change wastes into value-added products," said Gina Sheets, Clinton County economic development director. "It will bring together different manufacturers and producers and improve their competitiveness by reducing their costs for energy and for waste disposal." Turco and Larry Nies, a Purdue civil engineer, are helping Sheets and other Clinton County and Frankfort city officials develop a long- range plan that considers the most efficient use of waste to produce the largest possible amount of sustainable energy. Nies, Turco and Sheets believe that the innovative energy-producing operations will encourage industrial expansion in the area. "This is industrial symbiosis, meaning all the businesses in the area are in this together to find better energy sources," Nies said. "Some companies in the park have high organic waste to make methane. Indiana Clean Energy has excess heat to activate the microbes used to break down the waste. ADM has vegetable oil that can be used for biodiesel, with the remainder used in waste conversion. "When you have a finite resource like petroleum and natural gas, you have to look at alternative fuel, which is one thing this plan does. In addition, changing waste into energy for homes, businesses and farms is stewardship for the environment. Throwing away waste that has value is a waste; it harms the environment and ignores a valuable resource." The Clinton County/Frankfort plan would locate a biorefinery for converting ADM, ICE and other waste from industry into methane on five acres in the industrial park at a cost of about $12.5 million. The facility for converting hog waste will cost about $5.5 million. A public/private partnership is contemplated to finance the cost. County officials also are seeking grant money from various sources that fund economic development and energy alternatives plans. Sheets' office is taking proposals from private companies interested in owning waste-to-wattage operations. Nies and Turco are advising city and county officials on which of the proposals is most viable for meeting the project's objectives of sustainable energy sources, economic development, education and research. A 2.5-mile pipeline will carry waste from the swine facilities to the conversion plant. One of the hog farms has about 6,900 pigs and the other has about 14,000. Eventually it would be in the interest of agriculture and the environment for farmers to develop waste conversion facilities on their own properties, Nies said. "If the energy is generated immediately rather than transported to a conversion plant, producing the energy would be less expensive and the power could be transferred into the electric grid immediately," Nies said of the European individual energy conversion operations. "Distributed energy production also would make it possible to isolate and maintain portions of the grid in the event of a power outage." Although converting waste to energy is a novel idea in the United States, parts of Europe have been doing this for quite awhile, Turco said. The Netherlands, in particular, uses conversion facilities because access to cheap fossil fuel and hydroelectric power is lacking. That country also has strict rules about disposal of human and animal waste. The waste-to-energy facilities in Europe are mainly the individual type that Nies recommends. The waste conversion facilities in Clinton County will be large, centralized regional energy sources. The strategy of companies and farms trading waste for energy is being negotiated. The Clinton County project will help teach people in the United States about alternatives to fossil fuel, which can't be replaced once depleted, Turco said. "We need to change people's mindset about waste and about fuel sources," he said. "We want these waste conversion facilities to be in place, not just to provide alternative fuel, but also so we can train students in this technology and to conduct further research on using different sources for energy supplies."
