Closure of Animal Waste Lagoons

1. Closure of Animal Waste Lagoons John W. Worley

2. Lagoon Closure • What is required? • What are options for managing an inactive lagoon? • What does an inactive lagoon contain?

3. What Is Required? • New or existing CAFO’s (1,000 Animal Units or more) • Notify EPD within 3 months of the date lagoon ceases to be used. • Close within 24 months (18 if closed involuntarily)

4. What Is Required? • Remove all waste from lagoon • Land apply at agronomic rates • Do not allow discharge to surface waters

5. What Is Required? • Rules refer throughout to the NRCS Field Office Technical Guide for guidance in acceptable practice. • Conservation Practice Standard 360, Closure of Waste Impoundments

6. Options for Closing a Lagoon • Complete Closure and Fill (reclaim land surface) • Breach the Lagoon Berm • Convert to Farm Pond • Livestock Watering • Irrigation Storage • Fish Pond

7. All Options • Remove conveyances (Fill pipes) • Remove as much waste as practical by conventional pumping methods • Agitate, pump, refill, repeat • Use dredge or similar device to remove sludge • Pump liquid, remove sludge mechanically • Some sludge may remain if it “will not pose a threat to the environment”

8. Close and Fill • Remove berms and restore land to approximate original shape • Excavated (Cut) Impoundments • Mound soil inside pond to allow for settling and encourage surface water runoff • Establish vegetation to prevent erosion

9. Breach the Berm • Embankment (Fill) Impoundments • Breach berm (embankment) with side slopes of breach no more than 3:1( or more depending on soil material) • Deep enough to prevent ponding • Establish vegetation in all areas to prevent erosion. 1 3

10. Conversion to Pond • Must meet structural requirements for final use • Must remove “all” sludge • Test water for safety. For livestock watering, Nitrate N below 30 ppm, Dissolved Oxygen more than 3 ppm (3 mg/L).

11. Other Considerations • If sludge is allowed to dry, it will decompose releasing odors and nutrients (can last for years) • Safety (fencing, signage) should be considered throughout the process • Poultry lagoons will contain oyster shells that are very difficult to remove by agitation

12. What does an Inactive Lagoon Contain? • Liquid Layer • Initially relatively high rates of N, P, K, organic matter (i.e. 500 ppm nitrogen) • Low nutrient and OM levels after 2 to 3 years (usually less than 100 ppm nitrogen)

13. What does an Inactive Lagoon Contain? • Sludge Layer • High nutrient content, especially P, K • Fairly high organic matter • High ash (undigestible material) • relatively unchanged over time as long as it remains wet

14. What does Sludge Removal Cost? • Wide variation • Ranges from $0.01 to $0.05/gal • For 1-million gallon lagoon (1/2 acre 6-feet deep)- $10 to $50 thousand • Average Cost $42,000 per acre to close lagoon by NRCS standards (Based on 1995 North Carolina Data) • 2-acre swine lagoon recently converted for approx. $15,000 in South Georgia • Recent estimate for 4-acre lagoon - $100,000

15. Agitate and Pump

16. Floating Pump or Dredge

17. Geotubes for Sludge Removal(Filling)

18. Geotubes for Sludge Removal(Dewatering)

19. Geotubes for Sludge Removal(Removal of Solids)

20. Geotubes for Sludge Removal(Removal of Solids)

21. Geotubes for Sludge Removal • Provides flexibility in time and space • Solids can be stored in tube until ready to use • Solids are more transportable • Liquid can be returned to lagoon to remix and repump • More expensive than pumping on a nearby field IF that is an option

22. Questions?