Siting Regulations for Manure Storage Facilities

Agdex#:	720/538
Publication Date:	03/06
Order#:	06-021
Last Reviewed:	03/06
History:	Replaces OMAFRA Factsheet Nutrient Management Act, Siting Regulations for Manure Storage Structures, Order No. 04-049
Written by:	John Johnson - Engineer, Cival Systems/OMAFRA; Daniel Ward - Engineer, Poultry and Other Livestock Housing Systems/OMAFRA

We are updating this page to reflect current regulations.

Information on this page about regulations under the Nutrient Management Act, 2002 and the Environmental Protection Act is out of date. On September 18, 2009 new regulations affecting those applying non-agricultural source materials on agricultural lands were filed. Please visit www.ontario.ca/nasm-omafra for more information.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Setback Distances for Permanent Manure Storage Structures
3. Minimum Distance to Field Drains
4. Minimum Distance from Surface Water
5. Site Requirements for the Permanent Storage Facility
6. Minimum Siting Criteria for Permanent Manure Storage Structures
7. Additional Information

Introduction

Animal manure is a good source of crop nutrients if properly managed and applied responsibly. But manure can be considered a contaminant if it comes into contact with surface or groundwater or otherwise causes an adverse effect. The components of manure that can cause problems include:

• coliform bacteria and nitrate nitrogen, which can contaminate water supplies if allowed to run uncontrolled from storage areas and exercise yards
• phosphorus, which if allowed into a watercourse, can promote algae growth, which in turn can use up oxygen in the stream, killing fish
• odours resulting from bacteria and other micro-organisms in stored manure that can bother neighbours

Ontario Regulation 267/03, under the Nutrient Management Act, 2002, is intended to reduce the potential for this type of pollution. Manure storage structures are regulated under the NMA Regulation and must be located appropriately and constructed properly. This Factsheet examines location considerations involving surface water, wells and neighbouring homes. Figure 1 shows one type of structure used to contain liquid manure safely so that it will not impact on surface or groundwater. Additional information related to construction standards for solid and liquid manure storage structures can be found on the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) website.

Setback Distances for Permanent Manure Storage Structures

The Regulation requires operations that must have a nutrient management strategy (NMS) or a nutrient management plan (NMP) to follow requirements for setbacks when constructing or expanding a permanent nutrient storage structure.

A properly located and constructed permanent nutrient storage facility will keep nutrients from reaching surface or groundwater. As well, the combination of a good soil management and cropping program can assure that these nutrients are absorbed by the soil at spreading time for subsequent crop uptake without risk to water quality. Adequate setback distances are one of the strategies addressed by the NMA Regulation.

Figure 1. A reinforced concrete manure storage structure built to contain all waste nutrients from a livestock enterprise.

Minimum Distance to Field Drains

All manure storage structures must be a minimum of 15 m from all field drainage tiles or piped municipal drains. [O. Reg. 267/03 s. 63(2), (5), (6)]

When constructing a permanent nutrient storage facility, you must locate and remove all existing field drains within the area bounded by the perimeter of the facility, plus 15 m. The existing drainage system must be redesigned to direct the flow away from or around the storage facility. If a drainage system is required within 15 m of a permanent nutrient storage facility, any water collected by these drains must be discharged to a treatment system, or the drains must be equipped with an observation catch basin and shut-off valve.

Minimum Distance from Surface Water

All permanent nutrient storage facilities must be located so that they have a flow path length of at least 50 m to the top of the bank of the nearest surface water. [O. Reg. 267/03 s. 63(3)].

In the Regulation, "surface water" is defined as:

• a natural or artificial channel that carries water continuously throughout the year, or intermittently, and does not have established vegetation within the bed of the channel except vegetation dominated by plant communities that require or prefer continuous presence of water or continuously saturated soil for their survival
• a lake, reservoir, pond, or sinkhole, or
• a wetland, such as a swamp, marsh, bog or fen, but not land that is being used for agricultural purposes that no longer exhibits wetland characteristics, if the wetland:
• is seasonally or permanent covered by shallow water or has the water close to the surface of the ground, and
• has hydric soils and vegetation dominated by hydrophytic or water-tolerant plants.
  The following are not surface water for the purposes of the Regulation:
  • grassed waterways
  • temporary channels for surface drainage, such as furrows or shallow channels that can be tilled and driven through
  • rock chutes and spillways
  • roadside ditches that do not contain a continuous or intermittent stream
  • temporarily ponded areas that are normally farmed,
  • dugout pond
  • artificial bodies of water intended for the storage, treatment or recirculation of runoff from farm-animal yards and manure storages.

"Flow path", in relation to a facility, site, outdoor confinement area or temporary storage area, means a surface channel or depression that conducts liquids away from the facility, site or area. [O. Reg. 267/03, s. (1)]

A permanent nutrient storage facility is expected to contain all nutrients until field spreading is appropriate (or the nutrients are otherwise removed from the operation). While no one plans to have manure runoff leaving his or her permanent solid nutrient storage facility, you should be prepared for this situation. Make sure you have a contingency plan in place that will help contain and treat this material to prevent water pollution. An earthen berm can be used to block runoff from entering a stream.

Where a facility:

• has been constructed in accordance with MSTOR [MSTOR is a manure storage sizing component of OMAFRA's NMAN software to help develop nutrient management strategies or plans.] or equivalent
• has a floor area of no more than 300 m²
• has a minimum of 75% of its perimeter area contained by walls that are at least 1 m high
• is used to store materials that contain no less than 30% dry matter and
• has been constructed with natural or manufactured devices that are capable of diverting up-slope water away from the facility

It is possible that the facility could use a permanently vegetated flow path as a runoff management system.

The vegetated flow path must be located on at least 0.5 m-deep soil and not located within 3 m of a field tile drain, 100 m of a municipal well, 15 m of a drilled well or 30 m of any other well to prevent the possibility of water contamination. The minimum length of vegetated flow path to surface water and all tile inlets must be increased to 150 m for a solid manure storage handling manure with a lower dry matter content of between 30%-50%. For manure with a dry matter content of 50% or greater, the vegetated flow path only needs to be 50 m from the surface water. [O. Reg. 267/03 s. 81(5)].

All permanent nutrient storage facilities must be located above the 1-in-100-year flood line established by the municipality or by the local conservation authority. [O. Reg. 267/03, s. 63(4)]

If you are close to a river or stream and unsure of the various flood lines, check with your municipality or conservation authority.

Site Requirements for the Permanent Storage Facility

A professional engineer or professional geoscientist must carry out a geotechnical investigation of the site prior to constructing or expanding a permanent liquid nutrient storage facility. They will identify the soil types and the presence of an aquifer or bedrock within 1.5 m below the excavation of a structure if it will be constructed of concrete or steel. For earthen structures, a deeper investigation, extending 2.5 m below the excavation is needed. This investigation requires the excavation of at least one test hole per 1,000 m² of the ground floor area of the proposed storage facility. The test holes must be located in the zone that is at least 3 m and not more than 10 m from the perimeter footprint of the proposed facility. [O. Reg. 267/03, s. 64-68]

The intent of this site investigation is to verify that there is a minimum depth of soil between the bottom of the proposed storage and the uppermost bedrock layer or water table. Additionally, the type of soil must be identified and analyzed to determine if it has sufficient clay content or can be classified as hydraulically secure to eliminate the need for a secondary liner.

A "hydraulically secure soil" means natural soil that is consistent in nature and able to meet a maximum saturated hydraulic conductivity of 1 x 10^-8 m/sec. - in other words, almost impervious.

A "liner" for manure storage includes a geomembrane liner, a geosynthetic clay liner and a compacted soil liner that would be placed under the floor and footings of the facility. This liner extends up the sides to a level equal with the top of the ground surface to provide an additional barrier against nutrient movement from the storage.

Consider the following example:

A farmer wishes to construct a new dairy free-stall barn and milking parlour for 200 milking cows and an open-top concrete manure tank to collect and store the manure from the alley scrapers and wash water from the parlour.

In order to meet the Regulation under the NMA, the new, fully reinforced concrete permanent liquid nutrient storage facility (the tank) for this operation must be at least:

• 50 m from any surface water
• 15 m from all field tiles
• 15 m from a drilled well, 100 m from a municipal well, 30 m from all other wells
• above the 1-in-100-year flood line mapped by the municipality or conservation authority.

At the desired storage site, a geotechnical investigation of the soil will need to be undertaken by a professional engineer or professional geoscientist to a depth of 1.5 m below the required storage excavation. This investigation is necessary to confirm the presence of at least 0.5 m of hydraulically secure soil or 1.0 m of soil with at least 10% clay below the storage. If this condition is not met, a liner option could be considered.

Temporary Manure Storage Sites

Nutrients, as long as they are not liquid nutrients, can be temporarily stored at a field site for later spreading, if the site meets the criteria outlined in O. Reg. 267/03, s. 82-86 and does not create an odour nuisance for neighbours. A number of minimum distance separation conditions must be met to use this storage option.

1. Site Location – [O. Reg. 267/03, s. 83(2)]

• At least 45 m from a drilled well with watertight casing.
• At least 100 m from a municipal well.
• At least 90 m from any other well.
• If storing manure or other prescribed materials, at least 125 m from a single residence and 250 m from a residential area. However, if storing de-watered municipal sewage biosolids, then at least 200 m from a single residence and 450 m from a residential area.

A "prescribed material" means either an agricultural source material or a non-agricultural source material excluding commercial fertilizer and compost.

2. Site Conditions – [O. Reg. 267/03 s. 83(1)]

• Minimum depth of unconsolidated soil to bedrock, under the site and within 3 m of the side of the site, to be at least 0.3 m.
• Minimum depth of soil above the water table, under the site and within 3 m of the side of the site, to be at least 0.9 m.
• No storage allowed on soils with a rapid infiltration rate. A coarse-textured, gravely soil would be a typical example of an unsuitable location.
• The site must be located at an elevation above the 1-in-100-year flood line established by the municipality or local conservation authority.
• The site must not have a slope greater than 3%.
• There must be a flow path away from the storage site that is at least 50 m to the nearest surface water or tile inlets, and is located at least 0.3 m above bedrock.

The length of time you may store manure at a temporary site is determined by the assessment of 10 factors related to the material properties, site conditions and storage management. The longest maximum storage period allowed is 300 days, with maximums of between 30-150 days being more typical. [See O. Reg. 267/03, s. 85 for full details regarding specific storage periods or contact an OMAFRA representative.]

Minimum Siting Criteria for Permanent Manure Storage Structures

Minimum Distance from Neighbours and Other Neighbouring Land Uses

MDS II is not a requirement of the NMA Regulation but it is a requirement of many local municipalities. The following information about MDS is provided to help farmers consider several of the factors that will influence their building at one time.

* See minimum distance separation information that follows.

The required separation distance varies according to a number of criteria including type of livestock, size of farm operation, type of manure system and the neighbouring land use. This information is contained in a series of Ontario government publications. Guide to Agricultural Land Use, Minimum Distance Separation I, and Minimum Distance Separation II are recommended reading. Figure 2 shows typical separation distances that are considered when planning a new manure storage structure.

Contact your local municipal office for a calculation of the required minimum separation distances for any proposed manure storage or new livestock building.

Figure 2. Property sketch showing separation distances for a proposed permanent manure storage.

To finalize the location of your new manure storage facility, a schematic, scaled drawing of your farmstead will prove helpful. The storage area will need to be accessed by large equipment and provide unrestricted traffic flow for hauling manure. Always consider the possibility of future growth - build in a location that will not obstruct or limit barn expansion.

A well maintained farmstead and reasonable consideration of the neighbours' ability to enjoy their property could have a significant bearing on the community's attitude toward your operation. Prevailing summer breezes have the potential to carry odours from the manure storage area and may annoy downwind neighbours. Visual screening of manure storages is always a positive step. Often, a tree windbreak or other visual screening can aesthetically benefit both the farmstead and neighbouring properties.

You'll also want to ensure that safety measures are in place in the unlikely chance of a spill or other breakdown involving your manure storage structure or handling system. A good storage location should provide space and topography suitable for secondary containment. All nutrient management plans require the preparation of a spills contingency plan to address this type of potential accident - Nutrient Management Protocol, p. 5, s. 5.2.5, no. 10 and p. 11, s 11.1-11.5.

Additional Information

• OMAFRA Publications
  • Publication 707, MDS I and MDS II
  • Publication 824, Guide to Agricultural Land Use
  • Publication 29, Drainage Guide for Ontario
• Best Management Practices Booklets
  • BMP 05, Nutrient Management
  • BMP 07, Water Management
  • BMP 14, Nutrient Management Planning
  • BMP 15, Buffer Strips

As part of Ontario's Clean Water Strategy, the Nutrient Management Act, 2002 was passed to reduce the potential for environmental contamination from some of our agricultural practices. It addresses how we manage nutrients, most particularly manure, as we store and apply them to farmland.

This Factsheet is part of a series to help you understand how the NMA pertains to your operation. The Factsheet series is not meant to provide legal advice. Please consult the regulation and protocols for specific legal details. Consult your lawyer if you have questions about your legal obligations.

For more information on the NMA, call the Nutrient Management Information Line at 1-866-242-4460, e-mail nman.omafra@ontario.ca or visit the OMAFRA website.

Factsheets are continually being updated so please ensure that you have the most recent version.

Some common acronyms

The Nutrient Management Act brought with it new terms that have commonly become abbreviated. These include:

• Nutrient Management Act - NMA
  
• Nutrient Management Plan - NMP
  
• Nutrient Management Strategy - NMS
  
• Nutrient Management Strategy & Plan - NMS/P