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Proposal would streamline Ohio's manure program

The Ohio Departments of Agriculture and Natural Resources want to streamline the management of manure in the state to bring all oversight of farmers applying agricultural nutrients under a single agency. The move would reduce regulatory redundancies between the two agencies.

 

Current law gives oversight of agricultural pollution and manure management responsibility for smaller livestock farms to ODNR while ODA regulates the large livestock farms. Under this proposal, ODNR’s authority over manure management on small-scale farms would be transferred to ODA, which already runs a robust manure management program and has authority over other agricultural nutrients. While the proposal does not amend existing manure use regulations, it would create uniformity in how those regulations are enforced by bringing small-scale farmers under the same department as large-scale producers and farmers applying commercial fertilizer.

 

“This proposal will improve efficiencies by reducing the redundancies that currently exist between our agencies regarding the management of manure,” said ODA Agriculture Director David Daniels. “More importantly, it also allows us to ensure the management of all agricultural nutrients is fully coordinated within one cabinet agency.”

 

As part of this transition, ODNR would continue to administer the existing manure handling, storage and application requirements within the Grand Lake St. Marys watershed as long as it is still designated a watershed in distress. ODNR would also continue to maintain authority for providing technical programs and services relative to soil health, soil erosion and drainage management and would maintain authority for silvicutlure and other soil and water conservation programs, which have historically been administered by ODNR through the Division of Soil and Water Resources.

 

The proposal, originally introduced as part of the governor’s mid-biennium review, is now included as a part of House Bill 490 and being considered by the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.

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