S.C. Code Regs. § § 61-43.100.130

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 10, October 25, 2024

Section 61-43.100.130 - Dead Swine Disposal Requirements

A. Dead swine disposal shall be done as specified in the approved Animal Facility Management Plan. The Dead Swine Disposal Plan shall include the following:

1. Primary Method for the handling and disposal of normal mortality on the farm.

2. Alternate Method for the handling and disposal of excessive mortality at the facility. The normal method of disposal may not be sufficient to handle an excessive mortality situation. Each producer shall have a Department-approved emergency or alternate method to dispose of excessive mortality. Excessive mortality burial sites shall be preapproved by the Department prior to utilization.

B. Burial.

1. Burial pits may be utilized for emergency conditions, as determined by the Department, when the primary method of disposal is not sufficient to handle excessive mortality.

2. Burial pits shall not be located in the 100-year floodplain.

3. Soil type shall be evaluated for leaching potential.

4. Burial pits shall not be located or utilized on sites that are in areas that may adversely impact surface or groundwater quality or further impact impaired water bodies.

5. The bottom of the burial pit may not be within 2 feet of the seasonal high groundwater table.

6. No burial site shall be allowed to flood with surface water.

7. Swine placed in a burial site shall be covered daily with sufficient cover (6 inches per day minimum) to prohibit exhumation by feral animals.

8. When full, the burial site shall be properly capped (minimum 2 feet) and grassed to prohibit erosion.

9. Proposed burial pit sites shall be approved by the Department. The Department may conduct a geologic review of the proposed site prior to approval.

10. The Department may require any new or existing producers to utilize another method of dead swine disposal if burial is not managed according to the Dead Swine Disposal Plan or repeated violations of these burial requirements occur or adverse impact to surface or groundwater is determined to exist.

11. The Department may require groundwater monitoring for dead animal burial pits on a case-by-case basis. The Department shall consider all of the facts including, but not limited to, the following: depth to the seasonal high water table; aquifer vulnerability; proximity to a State Approved Source Water Protection Area; groundwater use in the area; distance to adjacent surface waters; number of dead animals buried; and frequency of burial in the area.

C. Incinerators.

1. For facilities proposing an incinerator for dead swine disposal, either a permit for the air emissions shall be obtained from the Department's Bureau of Air Quality before the incinerator can be built or the following criteria shall be met in order to qualify for an exemption from an air permit:

a. The emission of particulate matter shall be less than 1 pound per hour at the maximum rated capacity.

b. The incinerator shall be a package incinerator that meets the requirements from the Department's Bureau of Air Quality; and

c. The incinerator shall not exceed an opacity limit of ten percent (10%).

2. Incinerators used for dead swine disposal shall be properly operated and maintained. Operation shall be as specified in the owner's manual provided with the incinerator. The owner's manual shall be kept on site and made available to Department personnel upon request.

3. The use of the incinerator to dispose of waste oil, hazardous waste, or any other waste chemical is prohibited. The use of the incinerator shall be limited to dead swine disposal only unless otherwise approved by the Department's Bureau of Air Quality.

D. Composters used for dead swine disposal shall be designed by a professional engineer or an NRCS representative and operated in accordance with the approved Animal Facility Management Plan. Packaged composters shall be approved on a case-by-case basis.

E. Disposal of dead swine in a municipal solid waste landfill shall be in accordance with R.61-107.19.

F. Disposal of swine carcasses or body parts into manure lagoons, treatment systems, storage ponds, Waters of the State, ephemeral and intermittent streams, ditches, and swales is prohibited.

G. Disposal of animal carcasses or body parts by rendering shall be approved by the Department and include a signed contract with the rendering company.

H. Other methods of dead animal disposal that are not addressed in this regulation may be proposed in the Dead Animal Disposal Plan.

S.C. Code Regs. § 61-43.100.130

Replaced and amended by State Register Volume 45, Issue No. 05, eff. 5/28/2021.