A new Surplus Nutrient and Manure Management Strategy was adopted by the Chesapeake Bay Executive Council this week that is designed to develop options for handling the issue throughout the Bay drainage area.

The four main tasks outlined in the Strategy include:

· Reduce surplus animal manure and poultry litter nutrients by adjusting animal diets;

· Foster alternative uses for animal manure and poultry litter nutrients by building markets and technologies for manure and litter products that can be used for energy, fertilizers, soil amendments or compost on a variety of lands;

· Develop a comprehensive inventory of manure and litter nutrient surpluses in the watershed; and

· Coordinate manure management programs throughout the watershed to address the regional imbalances of manure and poultry litter surpluses.

The Strategy also sets a series of targets and commitments to achieve between now and 2010—

· 20 percent reduction in phosphorus and nitrogen levels in manure in one-third of the Bay watershed’s dairy animals and 30 percent from poultry;

· 20 percent of the total fertilizer, soil amendments and compost used on state and federal lands will be comprised of poultry litter or animal manure nutrients derived from sources in the Bay watershed; and

· Create a Regional Manure and Litter Use Technology Task Force to identify and promote promising technologies for producing manure and litter products.

For more information, read the Strategy online and visit the Chesapeake Bay Executive Council webpage.

NewsClip: Bay Leaders Adopt Innovative Pollution Reduction, Fisheries Strategies

12/2/2005