to Natalie Roy, National Pollution Prevention Roundtable director, one of the significant results was the report's conclusion that regulatory programs are almost unrivaled in focusing the attention of business managers on environmental obligations. Bob Kerr, a pollution prevention consultant and principal of Kerr and Associates, pointed out, however, that the survey does not determine whether enforcement encourages installation of pollution controls or pollution prevention alternatives. Agreeing, Kathy Barwick, senior scientist, California Department of Toxic Substances Control, said the results indicate the need to integrate pollution prevention into the regulatory system. But how that integration takes place is important said Nikki Roy EPA Pollution Prevention Staff director who noted that industry officials ranked government advice quite low The survey concluded that most production managers and printers, when contacted by technical assistance programs, tended to implement pollution prevention. Also, production managers contacted by technical assistance programs were more likely to say that pollution control or compliance costs were a strong influence in their choice of equipment and operations. The influence of technical assistance surprised Gary Miller, assistant director of the Illinois Hazardous Waste Research and Information Center. He noted that some state programs are considering shifting environmental technical assistance duties to business assistance organizations; but the results, he said, show that environmental technical assistance programs are effective and should not be replaced. One of the more equivocal results of the survey was the impact of government-required pollution prevention planning. The number of companies doing such plans was high—half the printers and two-thirds of the production managers—but, Miller noted, states with the most stringent planning requirements, whose industries gave the highest marks to planning efficacy, did not achieve greater TRI reductions. —JANET PELLEY
NEWS SOCIETY States tackle animal waste problem to improve water quality In some areas of the United States, animal farms have become so concentrated that they produce the same volume of waste as a large city. Traditionally spread untreated on fields, the waste releases heavy loads of nutrients into the environment, resulting in fish kills and groundwater contamination. Because it has been taboo to regulate the farming community, states are using a variety of creative solutions to tackle this problem. Recent trends in agribusiness have led to large concentrations of animal production facilities, according to Mark Risse, agricultural pollution prevention specialist with the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service. These facilities produce huge quantities of animal manure: All the livestock produced in Pennsylvania, from chickens to swine, generate 25 million tons of manure annually, or five times the waste of New York City's hurpon poTMilrttion Hot spots include Maryland's southeastern shore and West Virginia for poultry North Carolina's infamous hog megalonolis- and Florida and Virginia dairv nroduction areas For years tnis manure has U
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been spread, untreated, on fields or stored in open pits. Both methods release significant amounts of nutrients and bacten a to the environment. From 5090% of the nitrogen in hog ma-
nure lagoons is released to the air as ammonia and deposited within a 50-100-mile radius of the lagoon, said North Carolina Environmental Defense Fund scientist Joe Rudek. When lagoons leak or flood, receiving water bodies experience algal blooms, anoxic water, and fish kills, and rainwater carries pollutants into groundwater and streams. The state of Pennsylvania has responded by focusing on nutrient management planning. Passed in 1993, Pennsylvania's Nutrient Management Act calls for farms with more than 1000 pounds of animals (two cows) per acre to draft a plan that will identify best management practices (BMPs), such as fencing cattle out of streams, that prevent nutrient releases to the environment The plans must meet a performance requirement that no more nitrogen will be applied to the land than croos can absorb But implementation of the act met strong onDOsition from the farmers' lobbv It has taken nearly four years for the Nutrient Man . , . B , , , rules for the plan, which will bete *• come effective sometime next year, said Bill Ebel, a board member. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania banks, faced with astronomical liability costs for manure spills into waterways, have taken steps r s y continued on page 530A
Despite the power of the farming lobby, a number of states have enacted laws to control animal waste, and others experiment with innovative reuse and biotechnology solutions. VOL. 30, NO. 12, 1996 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / NEWS • 5 2 9 A
requiring agricultural loan applicants to supply nutrient management plans, according to David Brubaker, vice president of PennAg Industries. Other states, including North Carolina and Minnesota, have enacted laws to control animal waste. This year, North Carolina passed two laws, one providing funds to repair faulty wastewater facilities and improve stormwater control, and another setting up a wetlands mitigation and banking system for farmers. Recognizing that small farmers, who are often operating on the edge of bankruptcy, were in need of low-interest loans for animal waste BMPs, Delaware has implemented one of the most aggressive loan programs in the na tion. Using the State Revolving Fund, a federal loan to states to build and improve wastewater
treatment facilities, Delaware has funded its BMP loan program using 20% of the revolving fund allowed for nonpoint source control. The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service has identified animal manure as a leading opportunity for waste minimization, because it has great value in nutrients and organic material. Some dairy farmers in the state are making more money selling composted manure to urban gardens than they are selling milk, said Risse. Another option is to feed poultry manure to beef cattle. Farmers stack the litter for 3-4 days, allowing it to heat to 140 °F, which destroys most pathogens, said Risse. Only 5% of Georgia's poultry litter is fed to cattle because producers fear a public uproar. In the future, animal waste management will involve greater
use of biotechnology methods, such as adding substances to animals' diets to reduce nutrients in their manure, many agriculture specialists say. The enzyme phytase, popular in the Netherlands, was recently approved for use in the United States. When added to feed, phytase helps animals extract more phosphorus from their food, thus reducing the amount of phosphorus in their manure More states are expected to instigate new regulations to control animal waste pollution, including caps on animal density, the specialists said. In problem areas such as the Chesapeake Bay watershed, Risse and Brubaker predicted that a tax on excess manure will be enacted that should create incentives for increased use of products like phytase. JANET PELLEY
Environmental consulting firms eye infrastructure projects As public funds for environmental projects decrease, successful environmental consulting firms are shifting their focus to infrastructure projects and transforming themselves from members of a shrinking industry into thriving businesses, environmental consultants said during a panel discussion at the annual HazWaste World Superfund XVII conference in October. Environmental consulting grew up during the 1980s, an era of increasing government regulation and funding for remediation projects, but that "privileged era" has ended, said Lindene Patton, environmental risk management executive, Zurich American Insurance Group. This change, coupled with the push to rely on government-sponsored incentive programs, has forced consultants into a field in which very little is under their control Patton said. To survive, environmental consulting firms must redefine themselves in a way that allows them to follow the money flowing into infrastructure projects. "Don't just think about your focus as a technical solution company," advised Grant Ferrier, editor-in-chie,, Environmental Business Journa.. Instead, these companies must find ways to integrate their expertise
into projects that aren't strictly environmental. The pressure for environmental consulting firms to diversify is so great that Smith Environmental Technologies Corporation, a thriving environmental firm that suffered financial losses in the early 1990s, renamed itself Smith Technology Corporation in September, said Don Wright, Smith vice president. The Newport Beach, Calif.-based company's
"We had to realize that we are more than just an environmental company." Don Wright, Smith Technology Corporation name change says a lot about the future of the industry. "We came to realize how limiting labels can be and had to realize that we are more than just an environmental company," Wright said. The pressure experienced at Smith has occurred with almost all environmental consulting firms, including larger companies, said Ferrier. To cope, Wright advised these firms to "let go" of
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the perception that they are strictly environmental specialists. More resources than ever are going into infrastructure projects, both in the United States and abroad, said Walter Howes, president, EBI Capital Group. In the United States alone, more than $100 billion over the next 20 years is expected to be spent on water and wastewater facilities. Whereas many U.S. projects involve upgrading existing facilities, the push overseas is to build new wastewater treatment plants, bridges, tunnels, and other projects. Currently, Argentina, Mexico, and Thailand need water and sewer systems, and Russia has yet to be wired via telecommunications systems. One of the biggest challenges for environmental firms entering the infrastructure market is tapping into private funding to replace government sponsorship. The trend to privatize U.S. infrastructure projects, particularly wastewater treatment plants, requires environmental consultants to join in partnerships with investment banks and large investors. "It's a cultural shift for traditional technical-based companies to involve themselves in financial solutions " Ferrier said CATHERINE M. COONEY
