The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will receive public comment through June 5 as part of the renewal process for six Animal Feeding Operations General 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 general permits for farm digester systems at each of these types of facilities.
DEQ is accepting comment as part of its commitment to a transparent public engagement process during the development of these general permits. The Department hosted a public input session as well as two technical stakeholder workgroup meetings in April and May. Stakeholders for the technical workgroups represented 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.
Public input can be submitted via email, mail or by phone at the information listed below until June 5.
Ramesh Ravella
Animal Feeding Operations,
NC Division of Water Resources
1636 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1636
Phone: 919-707-3705
Email: publiccommentsDWR@ncdenr.gov
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.