Landfilling Deer in the CWD Management Zone

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

2

Proposal• Cranberry Creek establish a policy to accept deer

waste from the CWD Management Zone

3

4

Justification

• CWD experts believe that reducing the availability of infected deer waste in the environment will help control the spread of CWD

5

Who Needs this Service?

Road Kill Collectors Hunters

TaxidermistsVenison Processors

6

Key Factors

• CWD is a disease of the deer family

• Approximately 99% of deer entering the landfill are not infected with CWD

• Prions from infected deer will remain in the landfill

• Without a practical and affordable disposal option, deer waste will be dumped on the landscape

7

Local Distribution

8

What about other states?

• All states with CWD landfill deer

9

What the Science Says…• “To evaluate the implications of our experimental results

for the disposal of infected carcasses in MSW landfills, we simulated PrPTSE (prion) transport in a profile characteristic of a landfill setting and estimated prion concentrations in the leachate collection system.”

• “Penetration (of prions) into the burial material over the 46 year simulation period was <20 mm (0.7 inch).”

• “These analyses indicate that concentrations of prions in a leachate collection system should be effectively zero for the conditions that were simulated, regardless of whether the CWD waste is encased in burial soil.”

Pedersen et al., Transport of the Pathogenic Prion Protein through Landfill Materials, Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 43, No. 6, 2009.

10

What the Scientists Say…• “If all unwanted carcass parts, scraps, and trims

removed from the field were disposed of properly, the risk of CWD introduction via carcass transport would essentially be eliminated.”

• “Throughout North America, responsible agencies should recommend that hunters, game farmers, game processors, and taxidermists properly dispose of all waste from processed cervids.”

• “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognized the current reliance of hunters on landfills to dispose of parts and occasional carcasses and affirmed there is no reason to believe this practice is inappropriate.”

International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Transport and Disposal of Hunter-killed Cervid Carcasses: Recommendations to Wildlife Agencies to Reduce Chronic Wasting Disease Risks, March 2006.

11

Costs of Disposal Options

$0.00

$0.10

$0.20

$0.30

$0.40

$0.50

$0.60

$0.70

Landfill ChemicalDigestor

Incineration

Co

st p

er p

ou

nd

12

The Law

• State Statute 29.063(6)(b)“The department may enter into agreements with persons who own or operate landfills, meat processing facilities, or wastewater treatment facilities in which this state agrees to indemnify those persons and their employees, officers, and agents against liability for damage to persons, property, or the environment resulting from the processing or disposal of carcasses of cervids and farm−raised deer that have chronic wasting disease.”

13

Recommendation

• The Cranberry Creek landfill establish a policy to accept deer waste from the CWD management zone based on:

• Science and risk analysis• EPA and DNR landfill guidance• Indemnification• Economics• Societal impacts

14

Questions?