Public Comment Period on Animal Waste Management General Permits

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will hold a public stakeholder input session May 9, 2023, as part of the renewal process for six Animal Feeding Operations General Permits. Input from the event, as well as input received during the 60-day comment period through June 5, will be considered in the development of the draft permits which will become effective in 2024.

The public stakeholder input session will be held at the Sampson County Expo Center’s Heritage Hall, 414 Warsaw Road in Clinton. Members of the public can drop-in throughout the event and visit several information stations focused on aspects of the existing permits to provide their comments and ask questions. Division of Water Resources staff will make a brief presentation hourly to give an overview of the program and current permits.

Through June 5, members of the public and interested parties are invited to submit comments on three existing state general permits for animal operations and three existing state general permits for animal farm digester systems. These comments will be considered during the process of drafting renewed permits.

Four additional public meetings are planned for the fall of 2023 as part of a 90-day comment period on the draft versions of the renewed permits, developed after receiving stakeholder input.

The public is invited to send comments on any aspect of the existing general permits for swine, cattle or poultry with a liquid waste management system, as well as the permits for farm digester systems at each of these types of facilities.

DEQ is conducting this input session as part of its commitment to a transparent public engagement process during the development of these general permits. In addition to this session, the Department will hold two technical stakeholder workgroup meetings in April and May. Stakeholders for the technical workgroups represent community groups, environmental justice organizations, environmental advocacy organizations, state and federal agencies, academia and industry. Summaries of these meetings will be provided on the DEQ website.

For those who cannot attend the May 9 session, public input can be submitted via email, mail or by phone at the information listed below until June 5.

Additional opportunities for public comments on the draft general permits will be announced this summer. More information and updates on the stakeholder process are available online.