DEP says it did not order Nicholas Meat shutdown
LOGANTON, PA – Nicholas Meat announced on Monday of this week that its meat processing facility east of Loganton would temporarily shut down at the end of the day on Tuesday because, it said in a release, “of a Department of Environmental Protection compliance order issued with little warning and no explanation.”
DEP’s Williamsport office on Tuesday provided a response, stating the agency did not order the Nicholas firm to shut down. Instead, the agency said, “In response to numerous community complaints, DEP has taken enforcement action within its authority to ensure that the Commonwealth’s environmental regulations are followed in order to protect the environment and public health. In this instance, the Department’s action is driven by the increased potential for runoff due to the uncertain field conditions underneath the snow and the potential for increased runoff primarily due to melt.”
The dispute revolves around food processing residual (FPR) spread on snow covered fields, the spreading process long employed by Nicholas. DEP earlier this month said the practice. The DEP statement said the decision to shut down was solely a Nicholas decision.
The DEP statement:
DEP has not ordered the Nicholas Meat operation to shut down. In response to numerous community complaints, DEP has taken enforcement action within its authority to ensure that the Commonwealth’s environmental regulations are followed in order to protect the environment and public health. In this instance, the Department’s action is driven by the increased potential for runoff due to the uncertain field conditions underneath the snow and the potential for increased runoff primarily due to melt. These concerns drove the February 9, 2021 order to immediately cease land application of food processing residual (FPR) to snow-covered fields (document attached). Nicholas Meat recently appealed DEP’s order to the Environmental Hearing Board, and the company also asked to be relieved of the order’s obligations until a thorough hearing can be held on the matter. Up to this point, the Environmental Hearing Board has twice denied that request, and has ruled that the DEP’s order is now in effect.
Nicholas Meat has always had multiple legal options available to manage its food processing residual, which are described in part within the Food Processing Residual Management Manual provided. The choice to shut down facility operations is solely theirs.
The Nicholas Meat facility has expanded greatly, from processing 150-200 cattle and generating 40,000 gallons of residual waste daily in 2013 to approximately 600 or more cattle today and generating 150,000 gallons of residual waste today. During this time, the storage for the residual waste the process generates has not expanded at all. That growth, coupled with an unusually long standing snowpack and no backup plan, is the genesis of this issue. DEP recently issued permits to Nicholas Meat for the construction of a waste digester, which is hoped to provide a long-term, sustainable solution.
To address questions regarding winter spreading of food processing residual in more detail, attached are DEP’s Food Processing Residual Management Manual and a Word document with information from this manual and the manure management manual. (Note: When a page number is referenced below, please refer to the actual number at the bottom of the page, not the PDF page number.)
As noted in the PADEP Intent Statement on Page 4 of the FPR manual, this manual describes best management practices (BMPs) for the management of food processing residual (FPR). A person managing food processing waste shall implement BMPs, and a failure to do so may result in DEP compliance enforcement.
Table 8.11 shows the isolation distance standards (aka setbacks or buffers) for applying FPR to agricultural land. As stated on page 90, “These buffer distances safeguard local water resources against potential contaminant migration off-site.”
The first full paragraph on Page 98 of the FPR manual discusses winter application of food processing residuals, stating: “Winter application of FPRs should follow standard practices established for manure handling.” Page 2 of the attached Word document goes into more detail regarding the requirements for manure handling.
The FPR manual goes on to explain on Page 98:
“Winter application of FPRs should follow standard practices established for manure handling. Additional Resource J addresses winter application as follows: ‘Winter application (of manure) is the least desirable, from both a nutrient utilization and a pollution point of view, because frozen soil surface prevents rain and melting snow from carrying nutrients into the soil. The result is nutrient loss and pollution through runoff. If daily winter spreading is necessary, manure should be applied to fields with least runoff potential. It should be applied to distant or limited access fields in early winter and then to nearer fields later in the season.’ Field application of FPRs is not [emphasis in original] permitted on snow-covered ground. Remember, the potential for a pollution incident is greatest in the winter, and therefore so is your liability.”
Farmers may not mechanically apply manure (or FPR during winter) within certain environmentally-sensitive areas, as described in the manure management manual excerpts in the provided Word document. This section also states: “Winter application can lead to significant environmental problems if manure is not prevented from getting into streams, lakes and ponds. Winter application is discouraged.”
And the complete release from Nicholas:
DEP Reversal Forces Nicholas Meat Shut-down Feb. 23 Impacting Workers, Farmers and Food Supply
Nicholas Meat, just one of over 900 Pennsylvania processing facilities that generates FPR that farmers apply throughout the Commonwealth, seeks workable solution for all impacted
LOGANTON, PA. (February 22, 2021) – Nicholas Meat LLC, a family-owned business, has no alternative but to temporarily shut down its plant operations at the end of the day Tues., Feb. 23, because of a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) compliance order issued with little warning and no explanation. The action impacts employees, farmers and consumers, not just locally, but statewide and beyond.
Nicholas Meat is the primary employer in the Loganton area, a small farming community with a population of about 3,000. A closure impacts more than 350 essential employees at the plant and 150 contract workers, hundreds of farmers and cattle buyers, and will impact the beef supply for consumers. On Friday, February 19, 2021, the PA Environmental Hearing Board (EHB) denied Nicholas Meat’s petition to temporarily set aside the compliance order.
“If action is not taken to reverse the shocking decision of the DEP, these people will be without jobs and income to support their families,” said Doug Nicholas, Chief Operating Officer, Nicholas Meat. “These are the same employees who have shown up to work every day to feed Pennsylvania families despite challenging times. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the plant never shut down, because we were able to ensure that safety standards were in place to help these essential workers do their jobs and contribute to our nation’s food supply.”
The DEP’s February 9, 2021, compliance order suddenly and unexpectedly required Nicholas Meat to cease land application of food processing residuals (FPR) on fields that are snow-covered, after it permitted this practice for more than a decade. Nicholas Meat has safely applied this nutrient-rich and organic FPR to farmland year-round, including when snow is present on fields, using best management practices and in accordance with the relevant regulations for more than a decade.
After learning of the DEP’s compliance order, principal author of the DEP’s Pennsylvania Food Processing Residual Management Manual, Robin C. Brandt, PhD, P.E., wrote to the DEP in support of Nicholas Meat’s continued land application of FPR – year-round and including the application of FPR on fields that are snow-covered.
“The intent of the FPR guidance is to promote environmentally responsible beneficial use of FPRs,” wrote Brandt. “From what I have seen, the Bazooka-Farmstar toolbar equipment used by Nicholas Meat LLC satisfies the intent of the FPR manual. At the time this narrative was drafted for the FPR manual, in the early 90s, we were not aware of any practical land application equipment that could overcome the drawbacks associated with treatment of snow-covered fields.”
The DEP’s sudden and surprising reversal of the department’s position, after supporting the responsible application of FPR by Nicholas Meat for more than a decade, will disrupt food retailers and hurt Pennsylvania consumers’ access to a local and consistent beef supply, including grass-fed, natural (antibiotic and hormone free), and organic beef products.
Hundreds of farmers and cattle buyers across Pennsylvania and the surrounding states count on Nicholas Meat to harvest their cattle. The sudden closure of this facility will force farmers to look for other markets to process their animals. On average, Nicholas Meat processes 600 head of beef cattle daily, brought to them by farmers and cattle sellers from Pennsylvania and surrounding states.
Nicholas Meat is deeply committed to sustainability and sound environmental practices. In fact, Nicholas Meat just received approval on February 11, 2021, to construct a comprehensive Sustainable Resources Facility that will have an advanced wastewater treatment system allowing the company to reclaim up to 90% of water used and convert FPR into renewable energy thereby reducing Nicholas Meat’s carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions.
“This arbitrary reversal in the DEP’s longstanding position of allowing Nicholas Meat to apply FPR to snow-covered fields, and causing our operation to temporarily shut down, now puts this environmentally beneficial project at serious risk,” said Brian Miller, Director of Sustainability at Nicholas Meat.
It is imperative for employees, farmers and the food supply chain that the company remain open and continue to supply farmers with FPR to apply in a safe and legal manner.
“Unless something changes, we’ll be forced to temporarily shut down the plant Tuesday until improved weather conditions permit us to spread FPR and reopen our plant,” said Miller. “We want to work with the DEP on a solution that’s good for everyone – our employees, customers, farmers and the community.”
The Pennsylvania Superior Court and DEP have both previously found Nicholas Meat’s FPR land application activities to be acceptable and permissible. The Pennsylvania Superior Court determined that Nicholas Meat’s land application and storage of FPR are “normal agricultural operations” that are protected under Pennsylvania’s Right to Farm Act.
