Environmental Assessment MethodologiesApproaches National Perspective Gregory Beatty Office of Waste

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Environmental Assessment Methodologies/Approaches
National PerspectiveGregory BeattyOffice of
Wastewater ManagementDecember 9, 2004
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Environmental Assessment Methodologies/Approaches

• Four analyses of expected changes to
  environmental quality
• Improvements in Water Quality and Suitability for
  Recreational Activities
• Reduced Incidence of Fish Kills
• Improved Commercial Shellfishing
• Reduced Contamination of Private Wells

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Environmental Assessment Methodologies/Approaches

• Improvements in Water Quality
• Development of model facilities
• Modeling of edge-of-field pollutant releases
• Calculation of the number of AFOs
• Modeling of the change in surface water pollutant
  concentrations
• Valuation of the water quality changes

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Environmental Assessment Methodologies/Approaches

• Model Facility Analysis
• Define model facility
• 1997 Census of Agriculture
• Calculate pollutant production
• Manure production
• Nutrient content
• Pathogen metal content

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Environmental Assessment Methodologies/Approaches

• Model Facility Analysis (cont)
• Determine application rates and nutrient removal
  capabilities
• Number of operations
• Available land for manure application
• Typical cropping systems and yield
• Crop removal rates
• Calculate excess nutrients applied
• Agronomic manure application rates

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Environmental Assessment Methodologies/Approaches

• Edge-of Field Analysis
• Loadings from manure application
• Soil data
• Climate data
• Crop planting and harvest dates
• Loadings from lagoons and other storage
  structures
• Loadings from feedlots
• Model loadings under regulatory scenario

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Environmental Assessment Methodologies/Approaches

• Analysis of AFO/CAFO Distribution
• Approach
• Determine the number of operations that raise
  animals under confinement
• Determine the number of CAFOs either defined or
  designated
• Estimated number of AFOs and CAFOs
• Geographic placement of facilities

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Environmental Assessment Methodologies/Approaches

• Surface Water Modeling
• Defining the hydrologic network
• Reach file data on surface waters
• Land use/Land cover data
• Watershed data
• Distributing AFOs and CAFOs to agricultural land
• AFO/CAFO facilities by county
• Edge-of-field loadings data
• Calculating AFO/CAFO-related loadings to
  waterbodies

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Environmental Assessment Methodologies/Approaches

• Surface Water Modeling (cont)
• Loadings from other sources
• Loadings data for point source
• Loadings data for nonpoint sources (other than
  AFOs/CAFOs)
• Fate and transport modeling
• Estimated changes in loadings

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Environmental Assessment Methodologies/Approaches

• Valuation of Water Quality Changes
• Support of designated uses
• Water Quality Index or Ladder
• Dissolved Oxygen, BOD, TSS, pathogens, and
  chlorophyll a concentrations
• Application of CV Study
• Estimated benefits