About the EQIP Sign-up for Waste Storage/Alternative Waste Treatment Practices

Overview of the 2007 Waste Storage Sign-up

Signup for Waste Storage/Alternative Waste Treatment Practices is open through Dec. 29, 2006. Applications may be taken at any Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Farm Service Agency (FSA), or Land Conservation Department office. Farmers interested in EQIP financial assistance for Waste Storage/Alternative Waste Treatment Practices are encouraged to begin signing up immediately. 

Fact sheet on Alternative Waste Treatment Practices.

Farmers with a written Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan (CNMP) completed and signed off on by the appropriate planners and the landowner will be given bonus points for scoring. This applies to those applying for Practice 313, Waste Storage Facility, and those applying for Practice 632, Solid/Liquid Waste Separation Facility, or Practice 629, Waste Treatment. To score the bonus, provide a copy of the signed CNMP approval page to NRCS by Dec. 29.  More information on CNMPs.

For 2007, financial assistance for eligible conservation practices will be either flat rates or average costs.    More information about EQIP.

Alternative Waste Treatment Practices:  Those submitting an application under Practice 632, Solid/Liquid Waste Separation Facility or Practice 629, Waste Treatment must submit specific written documentation of the successful installation and operation of a similar system to the Wisconsin NRCS State Engineer in Madison, Wisconsin, for confirmation of practice eligibility. This documentation must be received by the NRCS State Engineer no later than December 1, 2006 to be eligible in 2007. All other provisions shown below under Eligibility Criteria also apply to Practice 632, Solid/Liquid Waste Separation and Practice 629, Waste Treatment and must be completed by December 29, 2006.

General Eligibility: In order to be eligible to signup for waste storage or Alternative Waste Treatment Practices, applicants must be eligible producers. The land offered must also be determined eligible by NRCS.  Eligible land is land that has a resource concern identified by a certified conservation planner that the waste storage or waste treatment will address.  Prior to the end of the application ranking period, the producer must be able to demonstrate control of the land being offered for EQIP.   Applicant must have control of the land throughout the EQIP contract period through ownership or lease.  The producer must complete and sign all necessary forms including the CCC-1200 (which is the official application) before the ranking period ends.

To be eligible for cost share, the producer must not have started the practice prior to having an EQIP contract approved by NRCS.

Eligibility Specific to Waste Storage/Alternative Waste Treatment Practices: A producer applying for this signup must:

• provide soil test results done according to University of Wisconsin recommendations (A2809). The soil test must have been completed within the past four years at an approved lab. Soil tests must be provided on all lands that are owned or controlled by the producer and on which wastes are applied.
• demonstrate the availability of a minimum of one acre per animal unit of cropland for land application of manure (the soil test results must cover this acreage).  Number of animal units are based on the number of animals at the site, or the number of animals for which the facility is planned, whichever is larger. 
• Soil test results must be provided PRIOR to the close of the sign-up period in order to be eligible for this sign-up.
• Producers must also provide a preliminary or final design for the Waste Storage/Alternative Waste Treatment Practices PRIOR TO the close of the signup period in order to be eligible for this signup. The final or preliminary design must be completed by a registered engineer in Wisconsin, or someone with NRCS job approval authority, or a DATCP Agricultural Engineering Practitioner Certification. A preliminary design must at minimum incorporate ALL items contained in the Waste Management System Design Checklist.

Inventory of the Site

• An Inventory Worksheet of the main production site and any associated satellite sites must also be completed by February 1, 2007.  This inventory will determine the need for additional farmstead practices and any upland treatment needed. The producer must agree to perform all practices that are identified as needed. These practices may also be part of the application for Waste Storage/Alternative Waste Treatment Practices and are eligible for EQIP funding.  A CNMP is required for all applicants who are granted a contract for Waste Storage/Alternative Waste Treatment Practices through EQIP.
• Erosion control - Areas where nutrients are mechanically applied must be within the tolerable soil loss (T) calculated over the life of the crop rotation.  Conservation practices to control soil erosion may include contour farming, contour strip cropping, contour buffer strips, no-till planting, crop rotations, terraces, or other practices to which the professional conservationists and farm operator agree.
• Erosion in concentrated flow channels (gullies) in areas where nutrients are mechanically applied must also be addressed.  Practices which address concentrated flow erosion may include grassed waterways, water and sediment control basins, and critical area planting.
• The inventory will also identify other resource concerns such as barnyard runoff, milking wastewater, and leachate from bunker silos. Any existing practices relating to Waste Storage/Alternative Waste Treatment Practices must have met existing NRCS standards at the time of construction or are not causing a resource concern.  Existing practices used as a component of the proposed new practice (312, 632, 629, or 634) must meet or be upgraded to meet the current NRCS standards.  Existing practices relating to the storage facility include, but are not limited to 313 Waste Storage Facility and 634 Manure Transfer.

All NRCS personnel entering the farm as a minimum will wear disposable footwear while on site. At the end of the visit the footwear will be left at the site at a location of the producer’s choosing for proper disposal to prevent any contamination. NRCS employees will implement additional biosecurity practices as required by the producer’s biosecurity plan.

Applicants who rank high enough to be selected for plan development and contracting must have a conservation plan developed. The conservation plan will outline the practices that will be included on the contract, and develop a preliminary schedule for implementing practices.

All identified needed upland practices and farmstead practices must be completed according to NRCS standards prior to any funds being provided for the Waste Storage or Alternative Waste Treatment Practices.  Producers are limited to one Waste Storage Facility, one Waste Treatment Practice, and one Solid/liquid Separation practice through EQIP.

Practices must be started within 12 months of contract approval by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) representative. Once begun, the producer is expected to make continuous progress towards implementation. Failure to commence a practice within 12 months of contract approval will result in contract termination unless circumstances beyond the producer’s control prevented the start of the practice.

Alternative Waste Treatment Documentation

Send complete documentation to NRCS State Engineer by Dec. 1, 2006.

Documentation of the successful installation and operation of an alternative waste treatment practice will be prepared by the applicant's designer and provided to the local NRCS District Conservationist.  The District Conservationist will submit the documentation to the NRCS State Engineer.

Minimum documentation to be provided by Dec. 1, 2006  shall include:

1. A narrative of the proposed treatment system and how it fits into the waste management system.
2. A conceptual layout drawing of the applicant's overall site showing the waste system components.
3. Conceptual drawings of the alternative waste treatment components.  (This satisfies Item 5 in the waste Management System Design Checklist.)
4. The waste volumes, waste characteristics, etc. that are factors in the design and operation of the proposed waste treatment system.
5. Independent, verifiable data showing the results of the waste treatment process in similar situations, climate and locations.  This data usually comes from a research agency, university trials, or private testing laboratories.

1. Conduct a management and site assessment.
   • See NRCS Agricultural Waste Management Field Handbook - Chapter 10, Companion Documents for worksheets that may be used.

   Applicable Companion Documents

   •  313-2-A Management and Site Assessment Worksheet (for smaller facilities)
   •  313-2-B Management Assessment Worksheet (for medium facilities)
   • 313-2-C Management Assessment Worksheet (for larger facilities)
   • 313-2-D Site Assessment Worksheet (for medium and large facilities)
   • 313-2-E Management and Site Assessment Worksheet (for smaller facilities)
   • 313-3-A Soil Test Pit/Boring Log
   • 313-3-B Soil Test Pit/Boring Log
   • 313-3-C Summary of Soil Profile Information
2. Identify all components needed to address clean water diversion, lot runoff, milking center wastes, other waste sources, manure transfer and waste storage (CNMP inventory checklist).
3. Perform soil borings in manure transfer, waste storage, buffer, or wastewater treatment strip areas per the applicable NRCS standard requirements.
4. Perform a preliminary design for needed components.
5. Prepare conceptual drawings for the components, and a site plan showing the proposed components.
6. Compute an estimated cost for all components of the waste management system.

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