Excerpt
Waste management is recognized as an important environmental and social issue for several reasons. First, poultry and livestock waste can have negative impacts on surface and ground water quality unless it is properly managed. Second, the public is increasingly concerned about odor and other nuisance issues associated with livestock and poultry waste. Finally, concerns have been raised about the increasing size and vertical integration of modern poultry and livestock operations. These issues present a number of important challenges and opportunities for the livestock and poultry industries. Our experience in North Carolina has important implications for other states.
The political context for waste management is changing quickly. To address public concerns about water quality, North Carolina enacted regulations in 1993 that require many livestock and poultry producers to implement waste management practices within a few years. Swine and cattle operations with over a specified number of animals are required to develop and implement “certified” plans for proper management of their livestock waste. Poultry producers are also required to take certain steps to ensure sound litter management. The N.C. General Assembly has also passed additional regulations that more directly address concerns over odor and local government control of animal …
Footnotes
Thomas J. Hoban. William B. Clifford, Michael Futreal, and Marybe McMillan are in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at North Carolina State University.
- Copyright 1997 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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