0

7APRI4D
NOTICE OF APPEAL FORM 2O!JM2:
1 4
APPEAL INFORMATION LJVV FwUkHTAL
HEARING BOARD
1. Name, address, telephone number, and email address (if available) of Appellant:
Please see attached Exhibit A
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7 -
2. Describe the subject of your appeal:
(a) What action of the Department do you seek review?
(NOTE: If you received written notification of the action, you must attach a copy of the action to this
form)
Approval of a Nutrient Management Plan for Country View Family Farms, LLC(please
see exhibit A for more information exhibit B contains the approval)
(b) Which Department official took the action?
Fulton County Conservation District under delegated authority from the State
Conservation Commission
(c) What is the location of the operation or activity which is the subject of the Department's
action (municipality, county)?
Ayr Township, Fulton County, PA
(d) How, and on what date, did you receive notice of the Department's action?
Appellant learned of the approval at the Fulton County Conservation Districts
March 13, 2014 meeting
3. Describe your objections to the Department's action in separate, numbered paragraphs.
(NOTE: The objections may be factual or legal and must be specific. Ifyou fail to stare an objection
here, you may be barredfrom raising it later in your appeal. Attach additional sheets, fnecessa,y,)
Please see attached Exhibit A
4. Specify any related appeal(s) now pending before the Board. If you are aware of any such
appeal(s) provide that information.
None known.
04/14/2014
NOTICE OF APPEAL FORM
PROOF OF SERVICE
In addition to filing this form with the Environmental Hearing Board, the Appellant must certify,
by indicating below, how the Notice of Appeal was served on the Department under numbers 1
and 2 below, and where applicable, upon other interested parties indicated by numbers 3and 4.
Failure to do so may result in dismissal of your appeal. Please check the box indicating the
method by which you served the following:
(1) Department of Environmental Protection
Office of Chief Counsel
Attn: Glenda Davidson
16th FIr. Rachel Carson State Office Building
400 Market Street, P.O. Box 8464
Harrisburg, PA 17105-8464
AND
o first class mail, postage
via pre-paid
overnight delivery
o personal delivery
(2) The officer of the Department
who took the action being

via
'II'"Fulton County Conservation District
State Conservation Commission
first class mail, postage
c
pre-paid
itt
f

a(bvernight d
eliveryLM e-m
o personal delivery
Additionally, if your appeal is from the Department of Environmental Protection's issuance of a
permit, license, approval, or certification to another person, you must serve the following, as
applicable:
(3) The entity to whom the permit,

Li first class mail, postage

license, approval, or

via pre-paid
certification was issued.

at overnight delivery
o personal delivery
AND
(4) Where applicable, any of the following:
o Any affected municipality, its municipal authority, and the proponent of the decision,
where applicable, in appeals involving a decision under Sections 5 or 7 of the Sewage
Facilities Act, 35 P.S. 75 0.5 . 750.7;
o The mining company in appeals involving a claim of subsidence damage or water
loss under the Bituminous Mine Subsidence and Land Conservation Act, 52 P.S.
1406.1 etseq.;
o The well operator in appeals involving a claim of pollution or diminution of a water
supply under Section 208 of the Oil and Gas Act, 58 P.S. 601.208;
o The owner or operator of a storage tank in appeals involving a claim of an affected
water supply under Section 1303of the Storage Tank and Spill Prevention Act, 35
P.S. 6021.1303.
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04/14/2014
NOTICE OF APPEAL FORM
SIGNATURE PAGE
By filing this Notice of Appeal with the Environmental Hearing Board. I hereby certify that the
information submitted is true and correct to the best of my information and belief. Additionally, I
certify that a copy of this Notice of Appeal was serv d upon each of the individuals indicated on
Page 2 of this form on the following date:
..p
Si ire o
p
ant or Appellant's Counsel
Date:____ __________
Telephone No
267-898-0570
Email: LMWcurtinheefner corn
If you have authorized counsel to represent you, please supply the following information
(Corporations must be represented by counsel):
Jordan B. Yeager, Esquire
Lauren M. Williams, Esquire
Name (Type or Print)
Curtin & Heefner LLP
1980 S. Easton Road, Suite 220
Doylestown, PA 18901
Address
Telephone No.:
267-898-0570
Email: JBY@
curt inheefner. corn
LMW@curtinheefner.com
TDD users please contact the Pennsylvania Relay Service at 1-800-654-5984. If you require an
accommodation or this information in an alternative form, please contact the Secretary to the
Board at 717-787-3483.
Pleaseseetheattached Filing Instructions for additional information and requirements
regarding thefiling of this form.
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04/14/2014
EXHIBIT A
Averments in Support of Notice Of Appeal of Marjorie Hudson
Action Appealed From
Applicant:
Location:
Sites for which Notices Issued
Approval of Nutrient Management Plan
Country View Family Farms, LLC
Ayr Township, Fulton County, PA
Bivouac Sow Farm, 15 197 Great Cove Road, Big Cove
Tannery, PA 17212
Appellant: Marjorie Hudson, 472 Ravensburg Road, McCorineflsburg, PA 17233
Appellant can be reached via counsel at 267-898-0570.
Appellant states as follows:
1. Appellant has lived in the area for over thirty (30) years, and currently owns three (3)
properties in the area.
2. Appellant plans to rent some of these properties.
3. Appellant relies on groundwater for water supplies, as does the entire community.
4. Upon information and belief. Appellant lives downgradient from the proposed
concentrated animal feeding operation ("CAFO")
5. The local area in which the proposed CAFO would be located contains karst topography,
and is a limestone geology area riddled with springs.
6. The site on which the proposed CAFO would be located is bracketed by two mountain
streams, both of which run into Big Cove Creek.
7. The site also is close proximity to State Game Lands 53, and upstream of a portion of
Buchanan State Forest.
8. Appellant enjoys hunting and living near clean, clear water in scenic surroundings.
1260821.2/19998
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04/14/2014
9. Upon information and belief, the proposed CAFO sits at a higher elevation than the
creeks below and surrounding property owners who rely on well water, including
Appellant.
10. The property at issue is currently used for traditional farming operations by a farmer not
connected with Country View Family Farms, LLC ("Country View").
11. Country View does not currently own the property.
12. The proposed CAFO would house 8,722 pigs (not including the litters) in three (3) barns
to be constructed on the property.
13. Each barn is equipped with a slatted floor to allow manure and wash water to fall into
storage pits underneath each barn.
14. The barns would occupy just over five (5 ) acres.
15. The proposed CAFO also would include a mortality composting facility.
16. In total, over 11,400,000 gallons of manure and approximately 50 gallons of mortality
compost would need to be managed annually at the site, including stored over the winter.
17. Currently, the proposed CAFO has a stated plan to ship all manure and mortality compost
offsite through commercial brokers.
18. The County Conservation District ("District") and the State Conservation Commission
("Commission"), in approving the plan, failed to adequately consider and account for the
impact of placing over 11,400,000 gallons of manure in the Big Cove Creek watershed
with karst topography.
19, Likewise, the District and the Commission failed to adequately consider and account for
whether the proposed CAFO would have sufficient measures in place to prevent pollution
caused by the topography and other site conditions.
1260821-2/18998
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04/14/2014
20. Also, the District and the Commission failed to adequately consider and account for
whether the impacts of the proposed CAFO on the Big Cove Creek watershed would
cause degradation of water quality in violation of 25 Pa. Code Chapter 93.
21. Upon information and belief, the approval, if it is allowed to stand, will result in
unreasonable degradation of Pennsylvania's public natural resources, and threaten the
drinking water and aesthetic resources that Appellants enjoy,
22. The District and Commission failed to adequately consider and account for the long-term,
cumulative, and site-specific impacts of the proposal, in violation of the Nutrient
Management Act, the Clean Streams Law, regulations pertaining to those statutes, and
Article 1, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution.
23. Because of the District and Commission's actions and inactions as set forth herein, the
approval did not impose adequate protections and its issuance was unlawful and beyond
its authority, including in violation of the Nutrient Management Act, the Clean Streams
Law, regulations pertaining to those statutes, and Article 1, Section 27 of the
Pennsylvania Constitution.
1260821.2/19998
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04/14/2014
EXHIBIT B
Approval Letter
04/14/2014
.0 FULTON COUNTY
CONSERVATION DISTRICT
C'oivviiig
\ILI11
Remnirces
.
16r Our Futuc'
Country View Family Farms
c/o William C. Fink
1301 Fulling Mill Road Suite 3000
Middletown, PA 17057
RE: Bivouac Sow Farm Nutrient Management Plan - Approval
To Whom it May Concern,
The Fulton County Conservation District received your request Nutrient Management Plan (NMP)
for review and approval on December 20, 2014. The District Board of Directors took action on the
NM written by William C. Fink (Nutrient Management Specialist #77) at their regularly scheduled
March 13, 2014, Board meeting. This plan meets the requirements of the Nutrient Management
Act 36 regulations, and therefore has been approved. Approval does not constitute an
endorsementof any nutrient recommendations that may be in the plan. The operator has the
primary responsibility for plan implementation, and for the maintenance of required practices and
record keeping.
Nutrient management regulations Section 83.321(a)(5) do not require that an erosion and
sediment pollution control plan (meeting the requirements of Chapter 102) for agricultural plowing
and tilling be included as a part of the nutrient management plan. However, Section 83.321 (a)(5)
does not eliminate the operators, responsibility to comply with Chapter 102. Specifically the
regulations that apply to agricultural plowing and tilling are as follows:
Chapter 102 Erosion Control: Section 102.4(b) - 'In the case of agricultural plowing and
tilling, the landowner is responsible for developing and implementing the erosion and
sedimentation control plan (conservation plan). The landowner may delegate his obligation
to implement the plan or parts thereof, by written agreement, to a tenantor lessee. When
such an agreement exists, the tenant or lessee shall be responsible for implementing those
provisions delegated pursuant to the agreement."
Chapter 102 Erosion Control: Section 1024(a) ...."The Department or its designee may at
its discretion, require this plan to be filed with the Department or its designee."
The Conservation District has a responsibility to strive to have desired conservation practices
properly installed on public and private lands wherever they are needed. A nutrient management
plan may be of little value without a fully implemented and maintained conservation plan. You do
have a current conservation plan for the agricultural operation described in your Nutrient
Management Plan. It will be your responsibility to keep it up to date and implement the
conservation practices it contains.
04/14/2014
Country View Family Farms March 13, 2014
Status Review - The Conservation District Nutrient Management Specialist may visit concentrated
animal operations to see whether there are any aspects of plan implementation with which the
Conservation District could assist. The specialist will call ahead to try to accommodate your
schedule. Unlike Plan Updates (following paragraph) status reviews are not linked to any
timetable. They may be well before the triennial plan update, since the earlier they are, the more
likely they are to correct or avoid problems. Please call the District if you need assistance with
implementation.
Plan Update Procedure - You would need to update your plan under two circumstances:
whenever there is a significant change in the management of nutrients on the farm; or every three
years. Section 83231 of the regulations defines significant changes. A certified nutrient
management specialist must review the management plan at least every three years.
Documentation of this review must be sent to the district. This plan review must be completed by
December 20, 2016.
Because nutrients generated and used on the farm have the potential to cause water pollution
there are state and federal requirements beyond the Nutrient Management Act that can apply to
farm operations. These include the PA Clean Streams Law and Federal CAFO (Concentrated
Animal Feeding Operation) requirements. In most cases complying with the Nutrient Management
Act planning, implementation and record keeping requirements will satisfy these other
requirements. When the Nutrient Management Act requirements are not met, the PA Clean
Stream Law and Federal CAFO requirements may be applied. Also, when the individual or
collective impacts of farm practices cause surface or ground water pollution, compliance with
additional requirements may be necessary.
If you have any questions about this letter, please feel free to call the Conservation District at (717)
485-3547 and the Nutrient Management Program Specialist will be glad to provide any additional
assistance.
Sincerely,
I45
24/
Neill Miller
Chairman of the Board
216 North Second Street
McConnellsburg, PA 17233
04/14/2014