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Farm manure threatens Lehigh watershedThe state requires management plans but does little in terms <a href=http://www.avanttravel.com/page.php?sale=Tory-Burch-Romy>Tory Burch Romy</a> of enforcement.Jamie and Glenda Pini have goats, cows, sheep, pigs, chickens and turkeys (EMILY PAINE, THE MORNING )July 27, 2014|By Andrew Brown, Of The Morning CallJamie and Glenda Pini stood in the pasture of their small farm, among a herd of rambunctious goats, several large Angus cattle, and a pile of manure.The Pinis' farm, off Route 100, north of Interstate 78, where highways and warehouses transition to rolling country roads and fields of corn and oats, is small compared with most farms in Pennsylvania. For the past 10 years, the couple has raised a small number of cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens and turkeys on their 28 acres.The Pinis began farming after Jamie Pini had emergency open heart surgery. They hoped the lean, grass-fed beef and mutton they raised would help lower his cholesterol and blood pressure, keeping him out of the hospital.Besides the meat they consume themselves, they sell a small amount to neighbors and friends.Their operation is simple. They pride themselves on the health of their animals and the preservation of their land.But as they found out last year, their New Tripoli area farm was in violation of manure management rules administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.They were approached by an official from the Lehigh County Conservation District and asked to attend an educational workshop, where the Pinis realized they needed to track how they store, transport and use the manure that their livestock produce."That was complete news to me," Jamie Pini said. "I didn't know I needed a plan."Pennsylvania's manure management rules have been on the books since the 1970s, and larger farms have been held to them. But like Jamie and Glenda Pini, many small Pennsylvania farmers are unaware that the rules exist, according to farmers, conservation agents and environmental advocates.Without such plans, many small farmers have no guidance on how to prevent manure, soil, and commercial fertilizers from leaching into streams and groundwater, leaving bodies of water throughout the state vulnerable to agricultural pollution.Amanda Witman, a DEP spokeswoman, said manure management plans are required, but admitted the department does little to enforce them. It doesn't collect the plans, doesn't track how many farms actually have plans, and has no requirement to inspect <a href=http://www.avanttravel.com/page.php?sale=Christian-Louboutin-Gold>Christian Louboutin Gold</a> farms regularly. Farmers are supposed to keep the plans on record, but environmental protection officials only ask to see them if there is an environmental complaint about the farm, Witman said. And even then, farmers are rarely held to the plans' requirements, according to county conservation district employees."I don't think a lot of people realize why these plans are needed or important," said Robert Maiden, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts. "It's all about water quality."In Pennsylvania, nearly 5,705 miles of polluted streams and rivers are linked to agricultural pollution, making agriculture the most widespread pollution source in the state, according to the DEP's 2012 Integrated Water Quality Report.And according to the report, agricultural runoff kills more aquatic life in Pennsylvania lakes than any other pollutant.Manure management plans, which are tailored for each farm, are meant to reduce the <a href=http://www.avanttravel.com/page.php?sale=Tory-Burch-Top>Tory Burch Top</a> amount of soil and nutrients nitrates and phosphates that enter streams and rivers throughout the state.The plans reduce the nutrient runoff from farms by outlining best management practices, such as separating barnyards and manure pits from streams, leaving barriers of vegetation between plowed fields and stream banks, measuring the amount of manure and commercial fertilizer spread on fields, and fencing animals away from wetlands and bodies of water.Sediment and nutrient pollution can kill aquatic life by reducing oxygen levels in the water, creating aquatic dead zones. Over the past couple of decades, many of the United States' most iconic bodies of water have suffered from increased nutrient pollution, including the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River Delta, according to the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection.In the Chesapeake Bay the United States' largest estuary and the destination for most of Pennsylvania's water nutrient pollution has killed crabs, aquatic vegetation and fish by creating giant algae blooms that deprive sea life of oxygen. The bay's oyster population has been reduced to less than 1 percent of historic levels for two decades, according to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.And here in the Lehigh Valley, agricultural sources continue to be one of the largest contributors to local stream pollution.More workshopsAccording to the 2012 DEP report, agricultural pollution is associated with more than 97 miles of polluted streams in the Lehigh Watershed, which includes Coplay Creek and Little Lehigh Creek, and another 41 miles in the Middle Delaware-Musconetcong Watershed that includes Schoeneck Creek in Palmer Township and Deer Run in Bucks County.1 | | | Featured ArticlesMore:
