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By Kyle K. Weldon and Jim D. Bradbury James D. Bradbury, PLLC
As those in the dairy industry know all too well, winter storm events over the past few years and the COVID-19 pandemic seriously disrupted the milk supply chain. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) put in place an informal policy that allowed dairies with surplus milk to work with TCEQ on a case-by-case basis to dispose of the milk in emergency situations. Outside of this emergency policy, TCEQ’s authorized milk to be disposed of via injection into a disposal well, of which two locations exist in Texas.
When requests for the TCEQ to expand its rules to allow for land application of fluid milk were unsuccessful, the Texas Legislature acted. This past legislative session, Rep. Glenn Rogers and Sen. Drew Springer were instrumental in passing HB 692, which permits land application of milk dairy products. This was a long-needed solution to an occasional but very consequential problem for the dairy industry. This brought Texas in line with other milk producing states that already had authorized land application.
The statute also required TCEQ to develop rules to allow for the authorization by rule for land application of dairy waste and to adopt rules governing that land application. Among other things, this legislation included the adoption of rules allowing dairy waste from dairy operations to be dispose of into a control or retention facility, including a lagoon or playa, and the authorization of land application by irrigation associated with that disposal. HB 692 was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott on May 24 and became law on Sept. 1. Other states that allow for the land application of milk include Wisconsin, Ohio and Kansas.
The Texas Association of Dairymen and other proponents of HB 692 have been in contact with TCEQ regarding its proposed rulemaking and will continue to work to ensure that HB 692 benefits to the dairy industry as intended by its supporters. We will keep you posted as the rulemaking progresses.