House File 2119 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2119 BY BACON A BILL FOR An Act relating to confinement feeding operations maintaining 1 fishes, by providing for the calculation of animal unit 2 capacity, making penalties applicable, and including 3 effective date provisions. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 5716YH (4) 87 da/rj

H.F. 2119 Section 1. Section 459.102, subsection 6, paragraph l, Code 1 2018, is amended to read as follows: 2 l. Fish Fishes weighing twenty-five 3 grams or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.001 4 Sec. 2. Section 459.102, subsection 6, Code 2018, is amended 5 by adding the following new paragraph: 6 NEW PARAGRAPH . m. Fishes weighing less 7 than twenty-five grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00006 8 Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of immediate 9 importance, takes effect upon enactment. 10 EXPLANATION 11 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 12 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 13 GENERAL. This bill amends the “Animal Agriculture 14 Compliance Act” (Code chapter 459) which generally authorizes 15 the department of natural resources (DNR) to regulate 16 confinement feeding operations (operations) including 17 associated confinement feeding operation structures 18 (structures) and the use of manure originating from the 19 operation (e.g., by application on agricultural land). The 20 bill amends provisions that assign an equivalency factor to 21 fishes for purposes of calculating the operation’s animal unit 22 capacity (AUC). 23 BILL’S PROVISIONS. The bill provides that when calculating 24 an operation’s AUC, a fish weighing less than 25 grams is 25 assigned a new equivalency factor of 0.00006. A fish weighing 26 25 grams or more retains its current assigned equivalency 27 factor of 0.001. 28 BACKGROUND. An operation includes a totally roofed building 29 where certain confined agricultural animals are maintained 30 in a structure such as a confinement building for 45 days 31 or more during any 12-month period (Code section 459.102). 32 Relevant regulations include both air quality requirements 33 (e.g., separation distances between a structure or the location 34 where manure is applied and a benefited object or location 35 -1- LSB 5716YH (4) 87 da/rj 1/ 2

H.F. 2119 such as a residence) and water quality requirements (e.g., 1 the issuance of a construction permit and the approval of a 2 manure management plan). Generally, these regulations apply 3 differently to structures depending on the operation’s size, 4 determined by calculating its AUC (the maximum number of animal 5 units that may be maintained as part of an operation at any 6 one time). Each category of animal is assigned an equivalency 7 factor and a category may be subdivided into subcategories 8 based on the animal’s weight. The equivalency factor for each 9 category or subcategory is multiplied by the number of head 10 maintained as part of the operation. 11 APPLICABLE CIVIL PENALTIES. A person who violates a 12 regulation provided in the Code chapter is subject to a civil 13 penalty depending upon the type of violation. For an air 14 quality violation, the enforcement action is conducted by 15 DNR as part of an administrative hearing and the person is 16 subject to a range of civil penalties not to exceed $10,000 17 (Code section 459.602 referring to Code section 455B.109). 18 For a water quality violation, the enforcement action may be 19 conducted by DNR in the same manner as an air quality violation 20 or it may be conducted by the attorney general as part of a 21 court hearing and in that case the person is generally subject 22 to a civil penalty that cannot exceed $5,000 (Code section 23 459.603 referring to Code sections 455B.109 and 455B.191). 24 EFFECTIVE DATE. The bill, if enacted, would take effect upon 25 enactment. 26 -2- LSB 5716YH (4) 87 da/rj 2/ 2