VSGCP-W-Ol-002 C2 PROCEEDINGS Gregory D. Boardman, P.E.,DEE CharlesE. Via Department of Civil andEnvironmental Engineering Virginia PolytechnicInstitute and StateUniversity Lois Stephens Division of Continuing Education Virginia PolytechnicInstitute and StateUniversity Virginia Sea Grant, Publication Number VSG-02-01 Thiswork is a resultof researchsponsored in part byNOAH Office ofSea Grant, U.S, Oepartment of Commerce, underGrant No. NA96RG0025 to the Virginia Graduate Marine Science Consortium and the Virginia Sea Grant CollegeProgram. The U,S, Government is authorized to produceand distribute reprints for governmental purposesnotwithstanding any copyright notation that may appear hereon. AquacultureWaste Management Symposium Agenda July 22-24, 2001 8:30-8:45 am Introduction and welcome - GregBoardman and George Flick, Virginia Tech 8:45-9:15am JSAaquaculture effluent committee efforts MaxMayeaux, USDA 9:15-10 am Updateon EPAregulatory process for aquacultureindustry - IQisten Strellec,EPA 'l 0-10:30 am Re freshment break 10:30-noon Industryperspectives concerning waste management - Janele'alker, Virginia Tech; Kicth Gregg,Harlingen Shrimp Farms; Bill Martin,Blue Ridge Noon-1:30pm Lunch provided 1:30-3pm Bestwaste management practices for theshrimp and catfish industries - ClaudeBoyd, Auburn U. 3-3:30pm Refreshment break 3:30-5pm Bestwaste management practices for the trout industry - HarryWcstcrs, Aquaculture Bioengineering Tuesday, July 24 8:30-'l0 am Bestwaste management practices for theajligator, crawfish and turtle industries Greg Lutz, Louisiana StateU. 10-10:30 am Refreshment break 10:30-noon Bestwaste management practices for recirculatingsystems - SteveSummerfelt, Freshwater Institute No op-1:30pm Lunch provided 1:30-2:15pm Recentdevelopments in nitrification/denitri6cation - Tirn.Hovanec, Aquaria, Inc. 2:15-3 pm Managementof aquaculturalwaste using aerobic stabilization, reed bedsand hydroponic treatments SteveVan Gorder,Aquamarine Fish Farms,Inc. 3-3:30 pm Refreshment break 3:30-4:15pm Compostingfundamentals - Lewis Carr, U. of Maryland 4:15-5pm Experiencesand performance of actual composting operations - LewisCarr, U. of Maryland Tnhlv cf ..'oni» et' l pl',', ,I pp ,,I,'['-jllh'',, >V/, p;! Tech Intr >duction to Aquaculture Michael H. Schwarz Aquaculture Specialist Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center 1n l,duction to Aquaculture XI, Itaet I Ref:trare ayttaettl I ttrea Itentel tra a t';ttttta.' . '6 a rtenl'.~ -aiReaearelt a«et! attataton t enter :reerIlantpton 'L.a "'rrrn! Production ~A ~B~ t;Aa' .Swtb ttAAAAIA.! ttth ~ APltt PtttaaUAttt~ ttIAAA lt -C l~ I ! ll "l 1 i! 1' '! I'i '.! i .1 92 I . r.! 92, J C~n Role and Function of the Joint Subcommittee on Aquaculture Aquaculture Effluents Task Force: An Update Presented at the Aquaculture Waste Management Conference The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center July 22-27, 2001 Roanoke, Virginia Maxwell H. Mayeaux, Ph.D. BACKGROUND It is well known that sustainablecapture fisheries have leveledoff and that most capture fisheries that are not threatened, overfished, declining, or recovering are at Maximum Sustainable Yield MSY!. The ever-growingpopulation of the Earth andthe concomitantincrease in demand for high-quality seafoodproducts necessitate that increasesin seafoodproduction be provided through aquaculture. The UnitedNation's Food and AgricultureOrganization FAO! hastracked aquaculture productionworld-wide and aquacultureproduction is an increasingpercentage of total fisheries products.As cultLuedaquatics production is steadilyincreasing, so to are concernsrelative to the environmentalimpacts of aquaculturefarming practices.Several environmental groups have raisedissues regarding some production practices used in the aquacultureindustry in the U.S, and other countries. The U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency EPA! developedeffluent limitations guidelines ELGs! for fish hatcheriesand fish farms in 1977but regulationswere not promulgatedat this time, In January,1991, the Natural ResourcesDefense Council NRDC! won a lawsuitagainst EPA which led to the developmentof new or revisedguidelines for selected industries.This lawsuit requiredEPA to proposeand take final action on seveneffluent guidelinesalready under development,four effluent guidelinesalready identified, and eight additionaleffluent guidelinesthat had notyet beenidentified by EPA. In a court-orderedconsent decreesettlement January,1992!, EPA was requiredto promulgatenew ELGsor revise old selected industry categories.. EPA askedfor public commenton theneed for effluent guidelinesfor aquaculture facilities. The notice made reference to the recent report by the Environmental Defense Fund, which recommendedpromulgation of ELGs for aquaculture.The Agencyreceived comments arguingeither that pollutant discharges are adequately addressed by NationalPollutant Discharge Elimination System NPDES! permits and that ELGs arenot needed,or that the permits issued by thevarious state programs were inconsistent and inadequate. Some comments also provided additional information suchas explanationsof how aquaculturefacilities areregulated under existingpermits, comparisonsof statepermitting policies, and technicalpapers describing the pollutantsgenerated and treatmentprocesses used in the industry. EPA neededadditional information to determine whether the existing NPDES permit process was adequate to address these discharges and in February, 1999, EPA published in the Federal Register their intent to conduct a preliminary study of the aquaculture industry to determine any need for national ELGs, On January 21, 2000, EPA released the following announcement: "EPA Expands Focus on Nutrient Pollution. EPA's Office of Water is focusing new efforts to help reduce nutrient loadings from commercial agricultural and industrial operations nationwide. Among those efforts is a new activity to develop pollutant controls in the form of nationally applicable discharge standards known as effluent limitations guidelines and standards! for commercial and public aquacultureoperations," The decisionto include aquaculturein the developmentof ELGs was made in January, 2000 under the terms of the 1992 court-ordered consent decree settlement. This settlementagreement established a time line for proposedELGs by June,2002 with final rulemaking by June, 2004. JSA AQUACULTURE EFFLUENTS TASK FORCE The Federal Joint Subcommittee on Aquaculture JSA! is a legislatively mandated body whose function is to coordinate Federal activities related to aquaculture in both the public and private sectors,In responseto the 1999Federal Registernotice announcingthe preliminary study,the JSA, under the leadershipof USDA and Departmentof Commerce,formed the AquacultureEffluents Study Task Force AETF!. The mission of this Task Force is: Tocoordinate, facilitate, review, and provide input of science-thsedinformation via a broad- based stakeholder and technical expert process to assist EPA in the development of national effluentlimitations guidelinesand standardsfor aquaculturefacilities in the United States. Specific objectivesof this Task Force areto: ~ Create a nationally coordinated and systematic process for collection, analysis, and reporting of science-based data and information. ~ Integratethe best availableand appropriatescience, technology, data, and information into decision-makingprocesses that best servethe nation. ~ Provide written scientific and technical reviews and analysis of data and information summariesfor different production systemsassociated with major speciesin collaboration with EPA. ~ Prepareexpert, peer-reviewed reporting as scientific and technicalguidance for developing final national effluent limitations guidelines and standards. Specific actionsand activities for the AETF include: ~ Create a task force consisting of federal agency members and non-federal agency participants who representdiverse stakeholder interests. ~ Form technicalsubgroups composed of personswith recognizedexpertise, experience, and knowledgeof dischargesassociated with different aquacultureproduction systemsand species husbandry practices. ~ Form project work teamsof known expertsto addressspecial interest topics as needed. ~ Employ an expertpeer-review process and science-basedprotocols for reporting purposes. ~ Use the Internet and the World Wide Web for communications and information exchanges. ~ Createan Internethome page with information on task force activities and relatedinformation. ~ Assign specific taskswith time lines for completion,reviews, and follow-up ~ Seekfunds to supporttask force activities and accomplishmentof objectives The AETF includesa verydiverse membership including representativesfrom Federal,state, and local governmentagencies, academia, producer organizations, private aquacultureproducers, Land-grantand Sea-grantadvisory service, environmental organizations, and professional societies, SeveralTechrncal Subgroups were formed which include individuals from academia,private industry,and federaland stateagencies. The overall goal of the technicalsubgroups is to support a nationallycoordinated, systematic process that will identify and report the best-available science,information, and datarelating to dischargesfrom diverseaquaculture production systemsand husbandrypractices. TheseTechnical Subgroups include: Fish Feedsand Nutrition, Catfish Production in Ponds, Trout Productionin Flow-through Systems, Salmon Farming in Net Pens,Marine Shrimp Production,Hybrid StripedBass Production, Baitfish Productionin Ponds, Tropical