Date: 02/17/2010
Final
Ntirogen Stakeholder Process
COMMITTEE ON JOINT AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
| Votes: View--> | Action Taken: |
| <none> | <none> |
07:45 AM -- Ntirogen Stakeholder Process for Rocky Mountain National Park
Phyllis Woodford, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), described the Rocky Mountain Initiative to study the impact of nitrogen deposition in Rock Mountain National Park. She explained that the CDPHE, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Department of Interior signed a memorandum of understanding called the Rocky Mountain National Park Initiative Nitrogen Deposition Reduction Plan on August 17, 2007. The Plan identifies potential emission control options and air quality management alternatives to reduce nitrogen compound emissions including ammonia emissions from agricultural operations. Ms. Woodford described the involvement of the agriculture industry to implement the nitrogen reduction plan including the development of best management practices (BMPs).
07:55 AM
Dr. Jessica Davis, Colorado State University (CSU) Institute for Livestock and the Environment, identified BMPs to control ammonia emission from livestock producers (Attachment B).
08:02 AM
Dr. Jay Ham, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, CSU, described the ammonia cycle and how nitrogen enters the atmosphere and is deposited in Rocky Mountain National Park (Attachment C and Attachment D). He also identified CAFOs along the Colorado front range that are contributing some of the nitrogen in the park. He also responded to questions from the committee regarding how diet and other conditions in cattle feed lots contribute to nitrogen deposition. He described studies to measure ammonia emission in Colorado from feed lots and other sources and needs for additional research and federal grants for these studies.
08:28 AM
Mike Silverstien, CDPHE Air Quality Control Division, described efforts to identify other sources of nitrogen emissions and voluntary efforts to reduce nitrogen emissions.
08:31 AM
Ms. Woodford responded to questions from the committee about manure management alternatives and their effect on nitrogen emissions. She also described research at CSU to improve anaerobic digestion for dairies and the effect of land application of manure on nitrogen emissions.