Washington State Lawmakers to Consider Efforts to Regulate Manure Spraying

When the Washington state legislature convenes this month, one of the proposals up for debate will be a plan to make farmers who use manure as fertilizer subject to the same regulations as dairies that produce the manure, the Yakima Herald reported.

A program proposed by the state Department of Agriculture would license manure applicators and require farms to develop application plans and keep records as a way to protect surface water and groundwater from pollution, which can occur when too much manure is applied.

Manure management by dairies is now regulated by the agriculture department, but if the manure is hauled off-site to be used by a different farmer, there are no rules requiring it be applied to fields at appropriate times of year and at rates that the crops can actually absorb.

Dairy manure is considered to be a source of Yakima County’s groundwater nitrate pollution, and, in two other counties, manure in runoff has recently been linked to the contamination and the closing of shellfish beds.

Still in draft stages, the bill is already facing criticism both from the agricultural industry and environmental groups. Dairy Federation Executive Director Jay Gordon said that the proposal would just create more requirements and fees. An attorney who works on agriculture issues for the Western Environmental Law Center, called the bill a “bureaucratic proposal” that was only a gesture toward the problem of manure pollution, not a step toward solving it. S