Pennsylvania Farm Bureau - Association for Farmers and Rural Families in Pennsylvania

Odor Management

Facility Odor Management Regulations effective February 27, 2009

     In return for securing greater action by the Commonwealth to invalidate illegal local ordinances against agriculture, the 2005 ACRE law established a limited requirement for certain large animal operations to develop and implement odor management plans on farms.
     ACRE’s odor management planning requirements only apply to new or expanded animal housing facilities and manure storage facilities constructed on farms regulated as Concentrated Animal Operations (CAO’s) or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations CAFO’s). No requirements for odor management are imposed with respect to land application of manure.
     ACRE assigned the State Conservation Commission (SCC) with the responsibility to promulgate regulations governing odor management planning requirements. Over the past two years, the SCC worked with various stakeholders, including Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, to create a balanced set of regulations that would help manage odor in housing and manure facilities but would be workable for agriculture. The final regulations were published in the PA Bulletin on November 29, 2009, and will go into effect on February 27, 2009.
     The regulations adopted by the SCC do not require a farmer to eliminate odors from an animal housing or manure storage facility. Odor management planning needed to comply with the regulations will involve technology, practices or strategies that are manageable and economically feasible for the farmer.
     Odor management planning will be required for construction of a new animal housing or manure storage structure or construction on CAO and CAFO farms that occur after February 26, 2009. The regulations recognize that odor management planning requirements do not apply to an animal housing building whose construction began prior to February 27 or to an animal housing building constructed to replace an animal housing building destroyed by circumstances beyond the control of the farmer. The regulations also recognize that odor management planning requirements do not apply to structural improvements to an existing manure storage structure, unless the improvement will increase the structure’s storage capacity by more than 15% (based on the operation’s approved nutrient management plan).
     For any structure subject to odor management planning, the plan must be developed by a certified Odor Management Plan Writer and must be approved by the SCC or County Conservation District before construction begins. The estimated cost for development of a plan is $1,120. The Odor Management Plan is available for public review and public comment. The odor management plan must also be fully implemented before the new (or expanded) structure is used for animal housing or manure storage.
     As with nutrient management planning, the regulations allow for voluntary participation of odor management planning by farms other than CAOs and CAFOs. Fully implementing an approved odor management plan in accordance with the regulations is considered to be a mitigating factor in any civil lawsuit against the farmer for penalties or damages from odor impacts.
     The Odor Management Plan tries to identify the potential odor impacts from the use of a structure on a particular farm and measures that will help control those impacts. This includes evaluating how manure will be stored, number and type of animals in the facility, proximity to public use areas and neighbors, prevailing winds, best management practices currently installed and proposed best management practices.
     The Odor Management Plan will contain various “levels” of required Best Management Practices to be implemented and maintained for controlling odor impacts to neighboring landowners.
     Training to become a certified Odor Management Plan Writer is offered by the PA Department of Agriculture. There are three categories of certification: Individual, Public and Commercial.
     Additional information on these regulations can be obtained by calling PA Farm Bureau’s Natural Resources Director, Jennifer Harry at (717) 761-2740.

Air

Facility Odor Management Regulations effective February 27, 2009