State Innovation Grant
Program
Minnesota:
Environmental Results Program Applied to
Feedlots
The EPA State Innovation Grant Program was established in 2002 to help strengthen EPA's innovation partnerships
with States and Tribes and is a direct result of the Agency's innovation strategy, Innovating for Better Environmental
Results: A Strategy to Guide the Next Generation of Innovation at EPA (http://www.epa.gov/innovation/strategy).
To support the Innovation Strategy, the 2002 grant program focused its efforts on projects that related to one of
four priority issues: reducing greenhouse gases, reducing smog, improving water quality, and reducing the cost
of drinking water or wastewater infrastructure. In addition, EPA sought projects that test incentives that motivate
"beyond-compliance" environmental performance, or move whole sectors toward improved environmental
performance. This series of fact sheets features the State projects selected for funding under the Grant Program.
Contacts:
Kate Brigman
Regional Environmental Division, Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency, 1230 South
Victory Drive, Mankato, MN 56001,
kate.brigman@pca.state.mn.us
Jennifer Ostermeier
US EPA Region 5; Chicago, IL,
ostermeier.jennifer@epa.gov
Adam Levitan
US EPA National Center for Environmental
Innovation, Washington, DC
202-566-1466, levitan.adam@epa.gov
Background
The Environmental Results Program (ERP) is a regulatory
program used in sectors with numerous small facilities. These
sectors are often historically underregulated in many states (auto
body shops, junkyards, photo processors, dry cleaners, printers,
etc.). In Minnesota, the swine and egg producers associations
achieved environmental benefits through innovative quality or
management system driven initiatives. The poultry producers are
currently preparing similar initiatives. The Minnesota Pollution
Control Agency (MPCA) seeks to apply the ERP model to
feedlot operations across the state in order to achieve maximum
environmental improvement.
NCEI
NATIONAL CENTER FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION
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Project Description
To address pollution from agricultural runoff
(phosphorus, nitrogen, biological oxygen demand,
and disease-causing pathogens), MPCA implemented
its updated feedlot rules in October 2000. The rules
included a requirement that owners register their
feedlots and manure storage areas. The MPCA has
also focused state and county staff on permitting
and inspecting the over 30,000 sites now registered.
Even with that focus, however, at existing rates of
inspection (given tight state and county budgets), the
estimated time to reach all state feedlots is greater
than 10 years.
This project will therefore test and implement an
ERP approach for feedlots that fall below the federal
dehnition seeking quicker improvements in
environmental performance and compliance than
might be possible under conventional inspections.
The State Innovation Grant (SIG) funding -will be
used to develop and implement a pilot ERP within a
segment of the feedlot population: dairies. The
project also aims to extend the basic water quality
protection and land application management aspects
of Minnesota's feedlot rule to deal with odors, dusts,
pests, ancillary and maintenance operations, related
feed crop production, and many other aspects of
operations, pushing toward a multi-media, "whole-
farm" management system.
Self-certification, assistance in partnership with the
Minnesota Milk Producers Association, and other
ERP tools will help dairies improve environmental
performance and compliance in a more timely way,
and without the typical level of MPCA and county
effort. Partnership with the producer association,
counties, the Board of Water and Soil Resources,
Soil and Water Conservation Districts and Clean
Water Partnerships will aid development and
distribution of the program. The project's results
will also inform MPCA's decision whether to extend
the pilot to other feedlot sectors, or whether to
consider making ERP mandatory.
Should Minnesota be successful in applying the ERP
approach to feedlots, this project could serve as a
model to other states also working to improve the
compliance and performance status of feedlots
outside federal regulations.
Benefits of the Project
Likely outcomes from project implementation -
• Faster, broader adoption and results — MPCA
expects that participating feedlots will self-audit
for compliance and adopt environmental
improvement techniques for more areas of the
farmstead and sooner than under a conventional
inspection program.
• Build on "lessons learned" — MPCA is adopting
a process used and evolved successfully in other
states. MPCA will be build on the work of
producer associations and public/private pilots
in Minnesota and other farm states, leveraging
quality assurance programs, Farm Bill audit
incentives, and EMS/auditing-based
approaches promoted by producer associations.
Quantitiable environmental improvements include:
self-corrections to ensure
compliance
Best Management Practices (BMPs)
for feed and supplement BMPs
soil-tested nutrients levels
nutrient management plans (both on-
farm and at application sites)
reduction in energy-use
water conservation
increased compost volume
buffer strips along rivers and streams
to keep pollutants out of the water
drain tile inlets capped
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These measures will be developed further in the first
phases of the project:
• improved administrative efficiency due to
increased work load.
• cost savings and improved efficiency for
producers due to reductions in:
energy and water use
soil loss
nutrient supplement for animals and
feed crops
Project Plan
The pilot project has a three year life. The SIG project
period is 1/1/05-12/31/06.
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Policy,
Economics and Innovation
(180 77)
January 2005
EPA-100-F-05-004
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