Senate File 269 - Introduced SENATE FILE 269 BY SENG , JOHNSON , SEYMOUR , HOUSER , KIBBIE , RIELLY , KAPUCIAN , HAHN , HANCOCK , and FRAISE A BILL FOR An Act relating to wastewater discharges by on-farm processing 1 operations. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 1037ST (1) 84 da/nh

S.F. 269 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 455B.198A Wastewater discharge —— 1 on-farm processing. 2 1. As used in this section: 3 a. “Farm” means the land and structures used in the 4 production of an agricultural animal or crop as defined in 5 section 717A.1. 6 b. “Food commodity” means any commodity that is derived from 7 a live agricultural animal or harvested crop, both as defined 8 in section 717A.1, which is intended for human consumption in 9 its raw or processed state, and which in its raw state includes 10 but is not limited to milk, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, 11 syrup, and honey. 12 c. “On-farm processing operation” means any place located 13 on a farm where the form or condition of a food commodity 14 originating from that farm or another farm is changed or 15 packaged for human consumption, including but not limited to a 16 dairy, creamery, winery, distillery, or cannery. The change to 17 the food commodity may include cleaning, cooling, pasteurizing, 18 purifying, or preserving the food commodity. 19 d. “Wastewater disposal system” means an on-site wastewater 20 treatment and disposal system, including a septic system and 21 soil absorption field, that discharges wastewater on private 22 property. 23 2. A person engaged in an on-farm processing operation who 24 qualifies under this subsection is exempt from the wastewater 25 discharge regulations provided in this chapter, and rules 26 relating to such regulations adopted by the department pursuant 27 to this chapter, for wastewater produced from the on-farm 28 processing operation. In order to qualify, the person must 29 dispose of wastewater as follows: 30 a. The person shall not dispose of the wastewater into 31 a stream, lake, pond, river, watercourse, waterway, well, 32 agricultural drainage well, sinkhole, spring, reservoir, or 33 aquifer. 34 b. The person shall not discharge the wastewater using land 35 -1- LSB 1037ST (1) 84 da/nh 1/ 3

S.F. 269 application or a wastewater disposal system if any one-day 1 biochemical oxygen demand contributed by the wastewater exceeds 2 five pounds. In addition, the following applies: 3 (1) The wastewater shall not be land applied on the same 4 spot on more than one occasion within a five-day period. 5 (2) The wastewater shall not be discharged using a 6 wastewater disposal system allowed for a single-family dwelling 7 if the one-day biochemical oxygen demand contributed by the 8 wastewater exceeds one pound. Otherwise, the wastewater 9 disposal system may be used if approved by a professional 10 engineer certifying that the wastewater disposal system meets 11 state effluent quality requirements for a private sewage system 12 as provided in 567 IAC ch. 69. However, in all cases the 13 wastewater must be compatible with the wastewater disposal 14 system. 15 c. For purposes of this subsection, the biochemical oxygen 16 demand shall be determined in the manner and at the temperature 17 used by the department to determine biochemical oxygen demand 18 for pretreated effluent. 19 3. The department shall adopt by rule guidelines to assist 20 a person who owns or operates an on-farm processing operation 21 in determining if the exemption provided in this section is 22 applicable. The guidelines shall provide, at a minimum, an 23 estimate of the maximum number of gallons of milk or wine that 24 could be processed by a creamery or winery utilizing land 25 application or alternatively a wastewater disposal system. 26 4. A person engaged in an on-farm processing operation who 27 qualifies as a small animal feeding operation as defined in 28 section 459.102 may dispose of wastewater produced by the small 29 animal feeding operation in the same manner as manure, if any 30 one-day demand for the biochemical oxygen demand contributed by 31 the wastewater does not exceed five pounds. 32 5. The department may adopt rules providing additional 33 exemptions from the requirements of this chapter that would 34 otherwise apply to the disposal of wastewater generated by an 35 -2- LSB 1037ST (1) 84 da/nh 2/ 3

S.F. 269 on-farm processing operation. 1 EXPLANATION 2 This bill provides that an on-farm processing operation 3 may be exempt from state regulations governing wastewater 4 discharge, if the waste produced by the processing operation 5 meets certain standards measuring “biochemical oxygen demand”, 6 a chemical procedure which determines the amount of dissolved 7 oxygen in a volume of water required to break down the organic 8 compounds. The exemption provided in the bill would apply to 9 an operation that processes a food commodity produced on that 10 farm or another farm and includes a dairy, creamery, winery, 11 distillery, or cannery. The standards apply to both disposal 12 by land application and on-site wastewater treatment systems 13 including a private septic system. The bill requires the 14 department to adopt guidelines by rule that could be used by 15 creameries and wineries to determine if they qualify for the 16 exemption. If a person is a small animal feeding operation, 17 the person may dispose of the wastewater in the same manner as 18 manure. 19 The bill also authorizes the department of natural resources 20 to adopt rules providing further exemptions applicable to 21 on-farm processing operations. 22 -3- LSB 1037ST (1) 84 da/nh 3/ 3