SF 2079 (LSB 5587XS (5) 87)

SENATE FILE 2079

BY  D. JOHNSON

A BILL FOR

An Act providing for the evaluation of permits to construct, including expand, a confinement feeding operation structure by using the master matrix, and including effective date provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 459.305, subsection 2, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  The master matrix shall include criteria be available for use by a county board of supervisors and the department in valuing the environmental and community impacts for use by county boards of supervisors and the department of an application. The master matrix The master matrix shall be comprised of three separate categories that assess the application’s impact on air quality, water quality, and the neighboring community. Each category shall include definite criteria and point selections for all criteria provided in the master matrix assigned to each criterion. The master matrix shall provide only for scoring the accumulation of positive points and shall not provide for deduction of points. The master matrix shall provide for a minimum threshold score required to In order for an application to receive a satisfactory rating, it must achieve a threshold score for each category.  A threshold score equals a minimum of seventy percent of the total number of possible points for the category. The master matrix shall be structured to ensure that it feasibly provides for a satisfactory rating. Criteria valuing environmental impacts shall account for animal agriculture’s relationship to quality of the environment and the conservation of natural resources, and may include factors that refer to all of the following:
   a.  Topography.
   b.  Surface water drainage characteristics.
   c.  The suitability of the soils and the hydrology or hydrogeology of the site.
   d.  The proximity to public use areas and critical public areas.
   e.  The proximity to water sources, including high-quality water resources.
    Sec. 2.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
    Sec. 3.  APPLICABILITY —— PRIOR APPLICATIONS.  The amendments to section 459.305, subsection 2, as enacted in this Act, shall not apply to an application to construct, including expand, a confinement feeding operation structure, if a county board of supervisors or the department of natural resources has completed an evaluation of the application prior to the effective date of this Act.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   BILL’S PROVISIONS —— GENERAL. This bill amends the “Animal Agriculture Compliance Act” (Code chapter 459) which generally regulates confinement feeding operations (operations) including associated confinement feeding operation structures (structures) by the department of natural resources (DNR). The bill provides that the master matrix (matrix) used to evaluate an application to construct a structure must be comprised of three categories used to assess its impact on air quality, water quality, and the neighboring community. It also provides that an application must achieve a minimum threshold score of 70 percent of all points possible for each category in order to be recommended for approval by a county board of supervisors (board) to DNR. The bill’s provisions do not apply, if a board recommended approval or disapproval of an application, or DNR approved or disapproved an application, on the basis of an evaluation completed prior to the effective date of the bill using the matrix as it existed at that time.
   BACKGROUND —— USE OF THE MATRIX. The purpose of the matrix is to produce a statistically verifiable basis for determining whether to approve or disapprove an application (Code section 459.305). A person preparing to construct a structure that is an unformed manure storage structure or a structure that is part of an operation of a certain size (at least 1,000 animal units) must obtain a permit by DNR (Code section 459.303). As part of the permit review process, a board that has filed a construction evaluation resolution with DNR (Code section 459.304) may make a recommendation based on the results of completing the matrix. In those circumstances, DNR is also required to conduct an independent evaluation of the application using the matrix.
   EFFECTIVE DATE. The bill, if enacted, would take effect upon enactment.