What Happens to the Waste Generated
by a CAFO, When a
Dairy Cow Produces
120 Pounds of Wet Manure PER DAY???
According to the NMED (as of Fall 2001): " Of the roughly 194 permitted dairies, about 61 have recorded discharges exceeding state regulations. "
What Happens to This Waste?
I. Lagoons:
Lagoons, or open cesspools, are used to store animal waste from these dairies and other animal operations in some states.
Clay liners can crack after long droughts, allowing untreated waste to seep into the ground and into the groundwater supply.
These " lagoons" also flood during heavy rains, causing damaging surface water runoff that can pollute neighboring areas and the Ogallala Aquifer, if this runoff flows into a playa.
63% of Missouri’s factory farm lagoons suffered spills between 1990-94, according to Missouri’s Department of Natural Resources.
II. Sprayfields:
Wastewater, urine, and manure are collected from the lagoons and then sprayed onto fields.This, of course, releases odors and bacteria into the air.
This process also distributes this waste over the fields, where it can dry up and become airborne or be washed off by surface water runoff, polluting neighboring fields planted with commercial crops, as well as home gardens.
Playas:
New Mexico and West Texas are dotted with Playas (lakebeds) that accumulate surface water runoff and then funnel it DIRECTLY into the Ogallala Aquifer.
According to the US Fish & Wildlife Service, " playas are the primary recharge areas for the Ogallala Aquifer of the southern High Plains."
The High Plains Underground Water Conservation District Number 1 (Lubbock, Texas) states that: " Recent studies reveal that playa lakes also play a significant role in recharge [of the Ogallala Aquifer].One recent study indicates natural recharge from playa basins ranging from 0.5 to 3.24 inches per year per surface acre."
Playas are Protected Wetlands: EPA Definition: " Wetlands: Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency or duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include playa lakes, swamps, fens, marshes, bogs, and similar areas such as sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, prairie river overflows, mudflats, and natural ponds ."
Runoff Threat to Aquifer:
When dairy wastewater contaminates surface water runoff, it will be funneled directly into our freshwater supply through these playas, pollutants and all.
This is a US Geological Survey Aerial Photo of a Curry County Playa at a proposed dairy facility. Note the historic runoff patterns that drain directly into the playa.
Curry County, New Mexico Dairies:
Curry County currently has approximately 17 operational dairies.
If we take an EXTREMELY conservative number of 2500 head per dairy as an average and do the math, these dairies are producing UNTREATED waste equivalent to a city of 1.27 MILLION people ON A DAILY BASIS.
Incidentally, when this research first began in October 2001, we were told there were 11 operational dairies in Curry County, then that there were 14 in December 2001. As of January 2002, there are approximately 17 operational dairies in Curry County, with a reported 17 more permits imminently pending.
And Pollution Happens:
On November 26, 2001, the New Mexico Environment Department issued an administrative compliance order assessing a $445,275.00 civil penalty against Gary Porte, the owner of P-2 Dairy, located near Dexter in Chaves County, for 25 violations of the State Water Quality Act and for allegedly violating an NMED-issued permit.
In addition to the civil penalty, the order requires the dairy to submit an alternative plan for wastewater disposal AND a corrective action plan to address contamination of ground water.
The dairy industry in New Mexico continually defends its pollution record.
However, Maura Hanning, an employee of the NMED, was quoted by the NM Business Journal: " of the roughly 194 permitted dairies, about 61 have recorded discharges exceeding state regulations
