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Agricultural Community Environmental Management Systems

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This project involves the development of a community-based EMS, which is an ISO 14001-plus approach, linked to the permitting, building and operation of community-based livestock-processing plants. HMH & Associates has designed environmentally oriented livestock processing facilities, and has marketed them to livestock producers associations. As part of their package, HMH & Associates provides management services in a fashion analogous to franchising. The projected facilities are approximately one-tenth the size of normal facilities, thus leading to more manageable environmental impacts. They are to be owned by farmer cooperatives, thus returning the profits on sales of the products to the farmers. Livestock is fed to the facilities on a just-in-time approach, thus eliminating centralized feedlots, and the environmental impacts associated with transport of livestock. Many of the elements of the facility have been designed to be more environmentally friendly than normal operations. For example, animal wastes will be composted rather than disposed of in the local POTW. Water consumption per animal will be less than in standard facilities. Steam boilers will run on natural gas or propane rather than on coal or petroleum, thus greatly reducing the potential for air emissions. In return for the designed-in improved performance as well as a commitment to continued performance, IERE and HMH & Associates are requesting permitting flexibility in the form of expedited, "modular" permitting of facilities all across Region VII.


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