MCNA Glossary

Definitions

Agricultural stormwater discharge is a term used in RSMo 644.059 to exempt many agricultural practices, including land application of animal waste, from rules that govern CAFOs in RSMo 640.700-640.760 (Hog Bill) and RSMo 644.006-644.150 (Missouri Clean Water Law), CSR 10 CSR 20-6.300 (CAFOs), and 10 CSR20-8.300 (Design of CAFOs).

Animal Waste is an inclusive term MCNA uses based on the Process Wastewater Definition in CAFO rule 10 CSR 20-6.300(1)(B)19 (see page 55, bottom of middle column) for Process wastewater (abbreviated here)—Water which carries or contains manure, manure commingled with litter, compost (including dead animals), or other animal production waste; water directly or indirectly used in the operation including spillage or overflow from watering systems; washing, cleaning, or flushing pens, barns, manure pits; water resulting from the washing, or spray cooling of confined animals; and water which comes into contact with any raw materials, products, or by-products feed, milk, eggs, or bedding.  Not in this definition are two new sources of land applied animal waste starting with the new CAFO Operating Permit in 2023: animal transportation truck wash water and CAFO facility human wastewater. 

Best Management Practices (BMPs) describe ways to manage land and activities to mitigate pollution of surface and groundwater near you. Similar to Conservation Practices. 

Clean Water Act (CWA) was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1973; its mission is "to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters."

Clean Water Law in Missouri was passed into law 7-23-1973 to protect and conserve the Waters of the State.

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are agricultural meat, dairy, or egg facilities that concentrate animals, feed, waste, and production operations on a small area of land.

Conservation Plan is a component of a Nutrient Management Plan.  It contains information on planned crop rotations, field slope percentages, and the conservation measures needed to maintain soil erosion rates at “tolerable” rates.

Conservation Practices are tools that farmers can use to reduce soil and fertilizer runoff, properly manage animal waste, and protect water and air quality on their farms while achieving multiple positive environmental outcomes; also referred to as best management practices (BMPs).

Community Health is a term used by MCNA to represent the interconnectedness of all living things ----- people, animals, insects, air, water, soil and everything else!

Export Only is an undefined term used in the CAFO Permit Application Form W Part 4.2 asks, “Is this an export-only operation.”  If the applicant checks the “yes box,” the animal waste is given or sold to a “Third-Party Recipient” in unlimited amounts, and the CAFO owner is no longer liable for possible water pollution from waste runoff.  The required Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) used for applying waste to the land properly is satisfied merely by completing lines 5-11 in Form W.  The Third-Party Recipient has no rules to follow, but is liable for waste runoff pollution. No NMP is required and the waste can be applied in any quantity in any area of the state. Because animal waste is considered nonpoint source (NPS) pollution, it is exempt from CAFO regulation as defined in the state statute for Agricultural Stormwater.

Hydrological Unit Code (HUC) is a tiered classification system developed by the USGS to identify and catalog watersheds.

Impaired Waters are Waters of the State that do not meet Water Quality Standards because of pollution.  The federal Clean Water Act requires states to develop TMDLs for all waters on the 303(d) List of Impaired Waters.

Missouri Code of State Regulations (CSR) governs the MDNR.

Missouri Revised Statutes (RSMo) are the rules passed by state legislators, which are put into practice through the Code of State Regulations.

Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides guidance and funding for Conservation Practices and is located in the U.S. Department of Agriculture

Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution is untreated pollution in a watershed that generally cannot be traced back to a single source, but rather to multiple sources (both natural and manmade), such as stormwater runoff, animal waste,  land disturbance and development activities, or ineffective onsite wastewater systems like septic tanks.

Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) is a strategy for obtaining the maximum return from off-farm fertilizer resources in a manner that protects the quality of nearby water resources.  It should be consistent with the farm Conservation Plan, which is needed for farmers participating in any federal farm programs.

Nutrient Management Technical Standard (NMTS) is a MDNR guidance document for properly land applying animal waste to prevent water pollution from waste runoff to Waters of the State.  It is not required to be used by Third-Party Recipients of animal waste.

Organic has two definitions:  1) relating to or derived from living matter, like “organic” wastes from animals, or 2) food farming methods produced or involving production without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and other artificial agents, i.e. “organic farming.”

Parks, Soils, and Water Sales Tax is a one-tenth-of-one percent tax first approved by voters in 1984.  It was reapproved by two-thirds of Missouri voters in 1988, 1996, 2006.  In 2016, it passed by 80% in all of Missouri’s 114 counties.  Half of the funds go to the agricultural practices approved by the Soil and Water Districts Commission and administered by the MDNR Soil and Water Conservation Program.  The other half goes to MDNR State Parks.

Pesticide is an inclusive term for herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides, all chemical compounds designed to kill, each with their own targets and mechanisms of action. Herbicides kill plants, insecticides kill insects, and fungicides kill fungi.

Pollution is contamination or other alteration of the physical, chemical or biological properties of any Waters of the State.

Point source (PS) pollution is generally treated wastewater discharged from the pipes of industrial facilities or domestic wastewater treatment plants into a receiving stream or water body.

Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was established in 1974 to protect the quality of drinking water in the U.S.  It focuses on all waters actually or potentially designed for drinking use, whether from above ground or underground sources.  The MDNR Water Protection Program implements the SDWA and a 9-member Commission manages it.

Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) are organized through MDNR in all 114 Missouri counties, and are managed by a Commission of county elected farmers.  Districts help farmers prevent soil loss and nutrient runoff by distributing cost-share funds from the Parks, Soils, and Water Sales Tax.

Stakeholder is a person with an interest in an issue being addressed at MDNR.

Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) describes the maximum amount of a specific pollutant that a water body can absorb and still meet water quality standards (WQS).

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) consists of 29 agencies and offices with nearly 100,000 employees who serve the American people at more than 4,500 locations across the country and abroad focusing on food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, nutrition, and related issues.

U.S. Geological Survey created by an act of Congress in 1879 is the Nation's largest water, earth, and biological science and civilian mapping agency and provides impartial scientific information to resource managers, planners, and the public.

Water Contaminant Sources include point and nonpoint source pollution that enters the Waters of the State.

Water Quality Standards describe the desired condition of Missouri’s waterbodies and the means by which those conditions will be protected or reached as mandated in 10 CSR 20-7.031.

Waters of the State include all waters within the jurisdiction of Missouri, including all rivers, streams, lakes and other bodies of surface and subsurface water lying within or forming a part of the boundaries of the state.

Watershed refers to the land area that drains to a common body of water, such as a river, stream, lake, bay, or ocean.

Watershed Management Plan identifies problems and threats to water resources and develops a framework to address these issues within a specific watershed.

319 Funds are cost share funds awarded from MDNR to write Watershed Management Plans and implement BMPs to reduce pollution runoff into the Waters of the State.