House File 2359

                                       HOUSE FILE       
                                       BY  KUHN


    Passed House,  Date               Passed Senate, Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act providing standards for the construction of structures
  2    associated with confinement feeding operation structures,
  3    making penalties applicable, and providing an effective date.
  4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  5 TLSB 6093YH 80
  6 da/gg/14

PAG LIN

  1  1    Section 1.  Section 459.307, subsection 4, Code Supplement
  1  2 2003, is amended to read as follows:
  1  3    4.  A person shall only construct a formed manure storage
  1  4 structure on karst terrain or an area which drains into a
  1  5 known sinkhole pursuant to upgraded construction design
  1  6 standards, which must at least include upgraded standards for
  1  7 concrete, necessary to ensure that the structure does not
  1  8 pollute groundwater sources.  Until the department adopts
  1  9 rules providing upgraded construction design standards, the
  1 10 person must install and operate a water pollution monitoring
  1 11 system as part of the formed manure storage structure.
  1 12    Sec. 2.  Section 459.308, subsection 3, Code Supplement
  1 13 2003, is amended to read as follows:
  1 14    3.  A person shall not construct an unformed manure storage
  1 15 structure on karst terrain or on an area that drains into a
  1 16 known sinkhole.  However, a person may construct an unformed
  1 17 manure storage structure, if there is a twenty=five=foot
  1 18 vertical separation distance between the bottom of the
  1 19 unformed manure storage structure and underlying limestone,
  1 20 dolomite, or other soluble rock.
  1 21    Sec. 3.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act, being deemed of
  1 22 immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
  1 23                           EXPLANATION
  1 24    This bill amends provisions established under the Animal
  1 25 Agriculture Compliance Act (Code chapter 459), which provides
  1 26 for the regulation of animal feeding operations by the
  1 27 department of natural resources.  That chapter generally
  1 28 includes provisions regulating where confinement feeding
  1 29 operation structures may be constructed.
  1 30    Code section 459.307 establishes construction design
  1 31 standards for formed manure storage structures.  A provision
  1 32 of that section provides that a person may only construct a
  1 33 formed manure storage structure on karst terrain or an area
  1 34 which drains into a known sinkhole pursuant to upgraded
  1 35 construction design standards.  The bill provides that the
  2  1 standards must include upgraded standards for concrete.  It
  2  2 also provides that until the department adopt rules for those
  2  3 upgraded standards, a person constructing a structure within
  2  4 the area must install monitoring wells.
  2  5    Code section 459.308 prohibits the construction of an
  2  6 unformed manure storage structure on karst terrain.  The
  2  7 section contains one exemption which provides that a person
  2  8 may construct a structure on karst terrain if there is a 25=
  2  9 foot separation distance between the bottom of the structure
  2 10 and soluble rock.  The bill eliminates the exception.
  2 11    Under Code section 459.603, a person who violates
  2 12 construction standards regulating water quality is subject to
  2 13 a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for each day of the violation.
  2 14 LSB 6093YH 80
  2 15 da/gg/14.1