New Pennsylvania law regulates farm food processing waste

New law regulates requirements for using residuals as fertilizer

Pennsylvania's new Fiscal Code sets long-sought requirements for spreading food processing waste on farmland for fertilizer.

The legal term used is food processing residuals. Food processing residuals or FPR are the leftover products created by commercial food processing. They can include vegetable peelings, raw meat scraps and liquid waste from cleaning processes that might contain blood, fat, hair, feathers, and a variety of other vegetable and animal byproducts, as well as chemicals used in processing.

The results of improperly spreading FPR on farmland have included noxious odors, air quality problems and contaminated drinking water.

After a four-year wrangle, lawmakers of both parties, state agencies and interest groups like the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau agreed to stricter regulation of how food waste is handled, applied and transported from processing plants to farmfields. The new rules update standards set in 2001.

State regulatory role

The State Conservation Commission, Department of Environmental Protection and the state Agriculture Department will develop best management standards.

The standards will cover storage, odor management, monitoring, site preparation, and compliance with local ordinances.

The conservation commission will issue permits for storing, transporting, use and application of food wastes and impose civil penalties for violations. DEP and the agriculture department will also have enforcement authority.

The agriculture department will run a training program to certify food waste haulers and brokers. They will have to keep records.

The program will be funded by the Nutrient Management Fund along with penalty and fee revenue.

The regulations in the Fiscal Code, Senate Bill 146, are a combination of Senate Bill 763 sponsored by state Sen. Greg Rothman, R-Cumberland, and House Bill 586 and House Bill 587 sponsored by state Rep. Paul Friel, D-Chester.

"FPRs do not just emit a foul smell, they can be toxic and their misuse has impacted our communities and quality of life for far too long," Rothman said. "The commonsense reforms delivered in the new law will protect our residents, our health and the environment. The measure requires FPRs to be regulated and will hold bad actors accountable through fines, suspensions and revocation of permits."

"The new law follows years of outdated oversight and easily exploited loopholes regarding commercial food waste," said Friel. "It is a massive win for Pennsylvania farmers who want to protect their soil, and for neighbors who deserve clean air and water."

Dickinson Township in Cumberland County is a center of protests against current practices.

"For years, residents have voiced concerns about the land application of Food Processing Residuals and the potential impacts on our community," said Dickinson Township Supervisor Jen DeGaetano, adding the law "strengthens oversight, improves accountability, and helps protect the groundwater, private wells, and natural resources that so many Pennsylvania families depend on every day."

Criminal case

The state Office of Attorney General filed charges last month against a Carlisle-based company for causing an FPR spill in neighboring Franklin County that wasn't reported to authorities.

The charges against Jones Manure Hauling LLP include a felony count of unlawful conduct under the state Clean Streams Act.

Jones Manure allegedly spilled a large amount of FPR due to a hose rupture in 2021 at a farm in Greencastle. Jones allegedly didn't contact DEP and report the spill even though neighbors complained about a smell and "decomposing animals mixed with chicken manure", the office said.

"This company's neglect after they knowingly spilled FPR cost neighbors access to clean drinking water -- which remains contaminated to this day," said Attorney General Dave Sunday.

The PFB said it lobbied to have the conservation commission as the agency in charge of managing FPR. The commission is better able to deal with nutrient management than DEP's solid waste management section which had the responsibility previously, PFB said.