As used in this part, the following terms shall have the definitions below unless otherwise specifically stated herein:

1. (1)

   1. (A) “Administrative consent order” means a legal agreement signed by the Director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission and a violator of this part through which the violator agrees to:

      1. (i) Pay a fine;
      2. (ii) Take a required corrective action;
      3. (iii) Refrain from an activity; or
      4. (iv) A combination of the listed actions.
   2. (B) It describes the actions to be taken by all signatories and may be enforced in court;

2. (2)

   1. (A) “Arkansas Phosphorus Index” means the risk-based assessment tool referenced in nutrient management plans developed to govern the terms and conditions under which nutrients may be land-applied.
   2. (B) Any nutrient management plan drafted or revised pursuant to the Arkansas Phosphorus Index effective at the time of its drafting or revision will not be deemed out of compliance for failure to use the current index until five (5) years have passed since the plan was drafted or revised.
   3. (C) However, any updates to that nutrient management plan within that five-year period must be conducted in compliance with the index effective at the time of update;
3. (3) “Certified nutrient applicator” may refer to either a certified commercial applicator or a certified private applicator and means a person who has been certified by the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission as competent to apply nutrients to land pursuant to the Arkansas Nutrient Management Applicator Certification Program, 15 CAR pt. 5;
4. (4) “Certified nutrient planner” means a person who has been certified by the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission as competent to develop nutrient management plans pursuant to the Arkansas Nutrient Management Planner Certification Program, 15 CAR pt. 4;
5. (5) “Commission” means the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission;

6. (6)

   1. (A) “Compost” means a process that biologically stabilizes livestock and poultry mortalities, making them suitable for disposal by land application.

   2. (B)

      1. (i) The process uses a simple mixture of:

         1. (a) (a) Dry poultry manure (litter);
         2. (b) (b) Carcasses; and
      2. (c) (c) A bulking agent or aeration medium such as hay or straw.
      3. (ii) Only enough water is added to keep the material moist, and the mixture should never be saturated.
   3. (C) Compost does not include composted plant material with no animal carcasses or manure added that is used as a soil amendment and not principally for its nutrient value;
7. (7) “Conservation district” means a conservation district created under the Conservation Districts Law, Arkansas Code § 14-125-101 et seq.;
8. (8) “Crop” means any managed vegetative cover;
9. (9) “Director” means the Director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission;
10. (10) “Land application” means the spreading on or incorporation of litter into the soil mantle primarily for beneficial purposes;

11. (11) “Litter” means byproducts associated with the confinement of livestock, including:

    1. (A) Excrement;
    2. (B) Feed wastes;
    3. (C) Bedding materials;
    4. (D) Composted carcasses; and
    5. (E) Any other combinations thereof;

12. (12) “Livestock” means animals kept or raised for use or pleasure, especially farm animals kept for use and profit, including:

    1. (A) Horses;
    2. (B) Cattle;
    3. (C) Swine; and
    4. (D) Poultry;

13. (13) “Nutrient” means a substance or recognized plant nutrient, element, or compound that is used or sold for its plant nutritive content or its claimed nutritive value including without limitation substances in:

    1. (A) Litter;
    2. (B) Compost as fertilizer;
    3. (C) Commercially manufactured chemical and organic fertilizers;
    4. (D) Sewage sludge; and
    5. (E) Combinations thereof;
14. (14) “Nutrient application” means the process by which persons apply nutrients to soil or associated crops;
15. (15) “Nutrient applicator” means any person who applies nutrients to soil or associated crops;
16. (16) “Nutrient management plan” means a documented record of how nutrients will be managed on a nutrient management unit prepared in accordance with United States Natural Resources Conservation Service conservation practice standards for Arkansas to guide and assist landowners and operators in the use of fertilizers, litter, sewage sludges, compost, and other nutrient sources for soil fertility and protection of the waters within the state;
17. (17) “Nutrient management unit” means the field, group of fields, or other land units that collectively include all land area on which nutrients will or may be applied and managed pursuant to a nutrient management plan;
18. (18) “Nutrient surplus area” means a defined geographic area, declared by Arkansas Code § 15-20-1104 and described more specifically in Subpart 2 of this part, that has been determined to be an area in which the soil concentration of one (1) or more nutrients is so high or the physical characteristics of the soil or area is such that continued application of the nutrient to the soil could negatively impact soil fertility and the waters within the state;
19. (19) “Operator” means the person or persons with control over the day-to-day operation of or decision-making authority over the facility, process, or physical location to which the term is applied;

20. (20) “Person” means any legal entity including without limitation any:

    1. (A) Individual;
    2. (B) Partnership;
    3. (C) Company;
    4. (D) Association;
    5. (E) Fiduciary;
    6. (F) Corporation;
    7. (G) Limited liability company;
    8. (H) Cooperative; or
    9. (I) Organized group of persons whether incorporated or not;

21. (21) “Poultry” means:

    1. (A) Chickens;
    2. (B) Turkeys;
    3. (C) Ducks;
    4. (D) Geese; and
    5. (E) Any other domesticated birds;

22. (22)

    1. (A) “Poultry feeding operation” means any lot or facility where two thousand five hundred (2,500) or more poultry are housed or confined and fed or maintained on any one (1) day in the preceding twelve-month period.

    2. (B) For the purposes of determining the number of animals at an operation, multiple poultry houses under common ownership are considered to be a single poultry feeding operation if they:

       1. (i) Adjoin each other; or
       2. (ii) Share a common area or system for the disposal of wastes;
23. (23) “Poultry litter management plan” means the documented plan for use, disposal, and storage of litter by poultry feeding operations as further described in Subpart 4 of this part;
24. (24) “Protective rate” or “Arkansas protective rate” means the application rate for commercial fertilizers approved by the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission for designated nutrients that provides for proper crop utilization and prevention of significant impact to waters within the state;

25. (25)

    1. (A) “Warning letter” means a written description signed by the Director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission of a violation of this part and the necessary corrective action.

    2. (B) A warning letter:

       1. (i) Cannot be used to assess civil penalties;
       2. (ii) Is not appealable to the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission; and
       3. (iii) Is not final agency action; and

26. (26) “Waters within the state” means all streams, lakes, marshes, ponds, watercourses, waterways, wells, springs, irrigation systems, drainage systems, and all other bodies or accumulations of water, surface and underground, natural or artificial, public or private, that are contained within, flow through, or border upon:

    1. (A) This state; or
    2. (B) Any portion of this state.

Codification Notes: This section as promulgated prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules contained a citation following subdivision (2)(A) of this section as follows: "See P. A. Moore, A. N. Sharpley, W. Delp, B. Haggard, T. Daniel, K. VanDevender, A. Baber, and M. Daniels; The Revised Phosphorus Index (2009)."