MD Dept. Of Agriculture finalizes proposed changes to Manure Management Regulations - to take effect October 15

ANNAPOLIS, MD (October 5, 2012) – The Maryland Department of
Agriculture (MDA) announced that the Final Notice to Adopt its revised
nutrient management regulations is published in the October 5, 2012,
issue of the Maryland Register. The regulations will go take effect
October 15, 2012.  They are designed to achieve consistency in the way
all sources of nutrients are managed and help Maryland meet nitrogen
and phosphorus reduction goals spelled out in its Watershed
Implementation Plan (WIP) to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay.


The final regulations include one technical, non-substantive change in
the provision that refers to nutrient application setbacks and the
department’s consideration of new practices developed by the USDA’s
National Resources Conservation Service and the University of
Maryland. MDA revised the provision to add “and other land grant
universities”.

To read the Final Notice to Adopt, visit the Maryland Register.
A copy of the final regulations is available on MDA’s website.
A Frequently Asked Questions document is available online.

The Nutrient Management Advisory Committee has been working on the
revised regulations for nearly two years.  The new rules were
originally introduced last October; however, due to overwhelming
feedback, Governor Martin O’Malley asked that the proposed regulations
be placed on hold to provide an additional opportunity for
stakeholders to further discuss the proposal as well as input from his
BayStat Scientific Panel. The regulations were revised and published
in the Maryland Register on June 29. MDA then held a series of four
public meetings across the state in July to provide information to
farmers, environmental interests, local governments and other
stakeholders on the proposed changes to Maryland’s Nutrient Management
Regulations and offer an opportunity for public comment.

Established in 1998 to develop and refine regulations and requirements
for Maryland's Nutrient Management Program, the 16-member Nutrient
Management Advisory Committee includes representatives from the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, MDA, University of Maryland, Maryland
Department of the Environment, Maryland Department of Natural
Resources, Maryland Farm Bureau, Delaware-Maryland Agribusiness
Association, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, commercial lawn care
companies, the biosolids industry, as well as local governments and
the state legislature.

For more information, see previous blogposts on July 10 and August 20, 2012.