Conclusion
I conclude that the agricultural land-application of animal waste is the single most polluting practice and the most easily addressed problem in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. My position was summarized in my public comments regarding nutrient management regulations and in other letters, in an articles published in the December 2006 and May 2007 issues of the Bay Journal (www.bayjournal.org) and is reproduced in slightly modified form below:
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It is instructive to ask how much nitrogen (N) is land-applied in animal waste annually in Virginia, but not used by crops. The tons (converted to pounds) land-applied in 2003 were supplied to me by VDH, DCR and DEQ, and the fraction N in the animal waste and the fraction of the N not used by crops (pollution) are from DCR’s “2005 Nutrient Management Standards.”
26 million pounds of N were land-applied in 2003 in Virginia but not used by crops. If the nitrogen is not removed from the field with the crop, it is released to the environment, and except for small amounts of denitrifiction in oxidized soils, it constitutes nitrate pollution. To put this large number in perspective, the Virginia Tributary Strategies claim that Virginia rivers supply 78 million pounds of N to Chesapeake Bay annually, 26 million pounds of it from point-sources (wastewater treatment plants). The 2010 Cap Load Allocation for N is 51 million pounds. The goal of reducing 78 million pounds of N discharge to 51 million pounds annually by 2010 could be achieved (78 - 51 = 27) by simply eliminating the land-application of animal waste. Nitrogen pollution from the land-application of animal waste is of the same magnitude of the discharge of nitrogen from wastewater treatment facilities. The land-application of animal waste, especially poultry waste, is by far the most polluting agricultural practice, and it has been known for three decades that agricultural practices cause most of the N and P pollution of Chesapeake Bay. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
It has long been claimed that the easiest source of pollution to address is the point-source pollution from wastewater facilities. That claim is incorrect. Banning the land-application of animal waste could be done with the stroke of a pen, and would be much less costly than upgrading wastewater facilities, which should have been done decades ago. Poultry litter is the most common kind of animal waste being land-applied, and a single company, Perdue Farms Inc., is the source of most of that pollution. Banning the land-application of animal waste will be feverishly resisted because of the economic consequences for a very few special interests. Sadly, most people probably prefer cheap poultry to improved water quality in Chesapeake Bay. Again, sadly, there would be little immediate effect of such a ban because it will take considerable time for the nitrate concentrations in groundwater to fall back toward “natural” levels, especially in the absence of mandated riparian buffers. The massive amount of phosphorus already disposed on the land will take many decades to dissipate. But the longer land-application continues, and the longer it takes for other agricultural Best Management Practices like meaningful riparian buffers, split fertilizer application and unfertilized winter cover crops to be mandated, the longer it will take to significantly improve water quality in Chesapeake Bay.
Water quality in Chesapeake Bay has not improved because the public has not demanded it and because special interests dominate the political process to their selfish economic benefit. The dominant role of special interests is not unique to America. Most people are more concerned with buying a (bigger) house, car, boat, vacation, etc. and purchasing the cheapest possible item now, than they are in investing in the welfare of future generations. The expanding human population, greed and the false economic dogma that growth now (outsourced jobs come to mind) is both good and necessary, all fuel the “race to the bottom.” Cost savings realized today (and the debt incurred) will be more than offset by costs to future generations. When our capitalist society fails, and it will, historians will confirm that there was nothing wrong with capitalism except for greedy, morally corrupt, irresponsible capitalists and complacent citizens focused on their immediate well-being. The fundamental reason our capitalist system will fail is the lack of substantive enlightenment (education), energetic sustained concern (voting comes to mind), and selfish short-sightedness of the people themselves. Until large numbers of people begin to give a damn about the next generation(s) and actually do something to institute change, our government “of the people, by the people, and for the people” will continue to be dominated by the “profit now” philosophy of the greedy capitalists and complicit politicians. We get the government we deserve. Until large numbers of people demand that water quality in Chesapeake Bay be improved and vote accordingly, and agree to change their behavior and pay for the changes that are necessary, the Bay will continue to stagnate.
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