KDHE issues WPC permit for ILS facility

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01-05-2025

Apr. 30—TOPEKA — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced Monday that it has issued a permit allowing Innovative Livestock Services LLC to proceed with its 88,000-head feed yard containment facility to be located in Pawnee County.
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit No. KS03000010 allows ILS to proceed with its plans to construct the facility in Section 23 and SE quarter of Section 14, Township 23 South, Range 16 West.
The permit lists terms and conditions for the construction of the facility's waste management system as designed and reviewed for approval by KDHE.
ILS CEO Bronson Smith issued the following statement Tuesday afternoon upon receiving the final Kansas Water Pollution Control Permit from KDHE:
"We are extremely proud to receive the final KDHE permit for ILS Feeders, LLC. Our team has put a tremendous amount of work into the permit application," Smith said. "We sought assistance from engineers, environmental consultants, feed yard construction professionals and other partners to ensure our permit application and design plan comply with all applicable statutes, regulations and permitting requirements. With the final permit in hand, we are excited now to be able to begin construction of ILS Feeders."
Permit issued
The announcement was confirmed Tuesday by Jill Bronaugh, KDHE communications director. "On April 28, KDHE issued a permit to the ILS feedlot near Larned for operation of a beef feedlot," Bronaugh noted in answer to an e-mail from the Great Bend Tribune. "After hearing the community's concerns, KDHE closely evaluated the permit to ensure compliance with state and federal laws and regulations. The permit, as issued, meets all requirements, and adds a facility-specific requirement of seepage rates in retention ponds that are more stringent than the regulatory requirement as an additional protection of groundwater. In addition, KDHE will require regular groundwater monitoring as an additional condition of the permit, with agreement from ILS."
The announcement, in a letter from KDHE dated April 28, Casey Guccione, section chief of KDHE's Livestock Waste Management division of the Department's Bureau of Environmental Field Services, provided KDHE's response to concerns raised at a two-part hearing hosted by KDHE that took place March 25 at the Larned Community Center. Guccione presided over the first part of the hearing in which the public provided oral and written testimony regarding the facility's proposed waste management system and water pollution control issues, along with other concerns.
In the letter, KDHE noted that 58 individuals provided comments either orally or in writing. At the hearing, 12 individuals provided oral testimony and 47 submitted written statements, with the hearing signifying the close of the public comment period as provided by KDHE.
After its evaluation, KDHE determined that both the permit application and newly-revised draft permit were complete and "address the requirements necessary for the issuance of a water pollution control permit."
KDHE officials acknowledged Tuesday that ILS had been notified by both the letter and issuance of the permit itself, noting that the facility cannot be populated until construction of the water management system is complete. According to the permit's standard conditions, "the permittee shall not stock a new facility or the expanded portion of an existing facility, nor place in use any animal waste management system until after the construction or expansion of the facility, including the animal waste management system, is completed, the Department has reviewed and approved any requested certifications, and the new or modified permit is issued or re-issued by the Department."
The permit also provides that any as-built plans detailing any deviations from the approved plans and specifications must be provided to the Department within 30 days of construction completion. Seepage tests and analysis must be completed and results submitted to the Department, with notification within two working days prior to conducting the tests to allow the Department to witness the testing procedure.
Statutory compliance indicates the seepage rate required has been upgraded from 1/10th of an inch to 1/40th of an inch per day, to be confirmed by post-construction testing.
Issues and KDHE response
The letter also contained issues raised at the hearing organized by category, as well as KDHE's response. Issues raised within the purview of the Department received detailed responses, while issues not within the statutory or regulatory requirements of KDHE were acknowledged as not being within the Department's purview.
Issues raised receiving a detailed response from KDHE included:
—Concerns that the proposed waste storage pool is inadequately designed and must require rubber liners in ponds.
"The proposed liner material is suitable for construction a 12-inch compacted soil liner for each WSP. Rubber liners are not typically recommended for waste retention structures due to chemical incompatibility with animal waste."
—Concerns of insufficient investigation of static water level.
"Information was verified by the Department using available data from water well completion records database and the Kansas Geological Survey database. The 10-foot separation distance requirement has been thoroughly evaluated, and each proposed WSP meets the requirement."
—Concerns that due to the permeability of Pawnee County soils, wastewater collection channels must have rubber liners.
"The purpose of collection channels is to direct runoff to the designated lined WSP. There are no statutes, regulations or design standards that require collection channels to have a liner."
—Concerns about who will monitor the groundwater.
"The final permit will include a Schedule of Compliance which requires the submission of a groundwater monitoring plan within three months of issuance of the permit. A minimum of five monitoring wells will be required, one upgradient of the facility and four downgradient."
—Concerns about wastewater disposal.
"Separation distances to nearby surface waters have been evaluated and the proposed facility complies with all relevant requirements. The Department conducts routine and spot inspections of confined feeding facilities. For effective enforcement, the Department should be notified immediately upon observing any activities, evidence of mortality or waste handling concerns."
—Concerns that regulations were changed or amended at the request of the facility to allow the permit to be issued.
"No statutes, regulations or policies were created or amended at the request of the facility to facilitate a review of the permit application and proposed plans."
Issues deemed not within the purview of the Department included:
—Concerns about animal pharmaceuticals in the groundwater; concerns that the feed yard would add stress to a water system already burdened by drought and overuse; concerns about animal welfare; concerns about air quality including pollutants, allergens and odor; concerns about why the facility was being built in Pawnee County; concerns about property values; concerns about disruption and road damage from increased traffic; concerns about decreasing population in the City of Larned and Pawnee County; and concerns about environmental and economic costs greater than the job creation and potential tax income.
As a final note, KDHE's letter noted that after determining the permit application meets the statutory and regulatory requirements, the KDHE does not have a legal basis to deny a permit application in which all requirements for a Kansas Water Pollution Control Permit are met and the permit has hereby been issued.