SF 2036 (LSB 5216XS (4) 87)

SENATE FILE 2036

BY  D. JOHNSON

A BILL FOR

An Act reducing the size of certain confinement feeding operations that qualify for exemptions from separation distance requirements, and including effective date provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 459.102, Code 2018, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  51A.  “Small confinement feeding operation” means a confinement feeding operation that has an animal unit capacity of three hundred or fewer animal units.
    Sec. 2.  Section 459.202, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  Except as provided in subsection 3 and sections 459.203, 459.203A, 459.205, and 459.206, this subsection applies to confinement feeding operation structures constructed on or after May 31, 1995, but prior to January 1, 1999; and to the expansion of structures constructed prior to January 1, 1999.
    Sec. 3.  Section 459.202, subsection 2, paragraph a, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  Except as provided in subsection 3 and sections 459.203, 459.203A, 459.205, and 459.206, this subsection applies to confinement feeding operation structures constructed on or after January 1, 1999, but prior to March 1, 2003, and to the expansion of structures constructed on or after January 1, 1999, but prior to March 1, 2003.
    Sec. 4.  Section 459.202, subsection 3, paragraph a, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  Except as provided in sections 459.203, 459.203A, 459.205, and 459.206, this subsection applies to confinement feeding operation structures constructed on or after May 31, 1995, but prior to March 1, 2003; to the expansion of structures constructed on or after May 31, 1995, but prior to March 1, 2003; and to the expansion of structures constructed prior to May 31, 1995.
    Sec. 5.  Section 459.202, subsection 4, paragraph a, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  Except as provided in subsection 5 and sections 459.203, 459.203A, 459.205, and 459.206, this subsection applies to confinement feeding operation structures constructed on or after March 1, 2003, and to the expansion of confinement feeding operation structures constructed on or after March 1, 2003.
    Sec. 6.  Section 459.202, subsection 5, paragraph a, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  Except as provided in sections 459.203, 459.203A, 459.205, and 459.206, this subsection applies to confinement feeding operation structures constructed on or after March 1, 2003, and to the expansion of confinement feeding operation structures constructed on or after March 1, 2003.
    Sec. 7.  Section 459.202, subsection 6, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   6.  Except as provided in section sections 459.203A and 459.205, a confinement feeding operation structure shall not be constructed or expanded within one hundred feet from a public thoroughfare.
    Sec. 8.  Section 459.203, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   A confinement feeding operation that does not qualify as a small confinement feeding operation, that was constructed or expanded prior to the date that a the applicable separation distance requirement became effective under section 459.202, and which that does not comply with the section’s that separation distance requirement may continue to operate regardless of the separation distance requirement. The confinement feeding operation may be expanded only if any of the following applies:
    Sec. 9.  NEW SECTION.  459.203A  Separation distance requirements for confinement feeding operations qualifying as small animal feeding operations —— expansion of prior constructed operations.
   1.  A confinement feeding operation that qualifies as a small confinement feeding operation, that was constructed or expanded prior to the date that the applicable separation distance requirement became effective under section 459.202, and that does not comply with that separation distance requirement on and after the effective date of this Act may continue to operate regardless of the separation distance requirement. 
   2.  A confinement feeding operation described in subsection 1 may be expanded only if all of the following apply:
   a.  The confinement feeding operation is not expanded by the construction or expansion of an unformed manure storage structure. However, the confinement feeding operation may be expanded by replacing one or more unformed manure storage structures with one or more formed manure storage structures, subject to all of the following:
   (1)  The animal weight capacity or animal unit capacity, whichever is applicable, is not increased for that portion of the confinement feeding operation that utilizes all replacement formed manure storage structures.
   (2)  The use of each replaced unformed manure storage structure is discontinued within one year after the construction of the replacement formed manure storage structure.
   (3)  The capacity of all replacement formed manure storage structures does not exceed the amount required to store manure produced by that portion of the confinement feeding operation utilizing the formed manure storage structures during any fourteen-month period.
   (4)  No portion of the replacement formed manure storage structure is closer to an object or location for which a separation distance is required under section 459.202 than any other confinement feeding operation structure which is part of the operation.
   b.  (1)  For a confinement feeding operation constructed prior to January 1, 1999, any construction or expansion of a confinement feeding operation structure complies with the separation distance requirements applying to that structure as provided in section 459.202, subsections 1 and 3.
   (2)  For a confinement feeding operation constructed on or after January 1, 1999, but prior to March 1, 2003, any construction or expansion of a confinement feeding operation structure complies with the separation distance requirements applying to that structure as provided in section 459.202, subsections 2 and 3.
   (3)  For a confinement feeding operation constructed on or after March 1, 2003, any construction or expansion of a confinement feeding operation structure complies with the separation distance requirements applying to that structure as provided in section 459.202, subsections 4 and 5.
    Sec. 10.  Section 459.205, subsection 1, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  A confinement feeding operation structure, if the structure is part of a confinement feeding operation which that qualifies as a small animal confinement feeding operation. However, this subsection shall not apply if the confinement feeding operation structure is an unformed manure storage structure.
    Sec. 11.  Section 459.205, subsection 4, paragraph c, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   c.  The liquid manure originates from a small animal confinement feeding operation.
    Sec. 12.  Section 459.205, subsection 5, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   5.  The stockpiling of dry manure within a separation distance required between a stockpile and an object or location for which a separation distance is required under section 459.204B if any of the following apply:
   a.  The titleholder of the land benefiting from the separation distance requirement executes a written waiver with the titleholder of the land where the stockpile is located.
   b.  The stockpile consists of dry manure originating from a small animal feeding operation other than a confinement feeding operation.
   c.  The stockpile consists of dry manure originating from a small confinement feeding operation.
   d.  The stockpile consists of dry manure originating from a confinement feeding operation that was constructed before January 1, 2006, unless the confinement feeding operation is expanded after that date.
    Sec. 13.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
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 in large part regulates confinement feeding operations (operations) including associated confinement feeding operation structures (structures). The bill creates a new category of operation referred to as a small confinement feeding operation that would in part replace a current category referred to as a small animal feeding operation currently exempt from separation distance requirements existing between a benefited object or location and an associated structure. 
   BILL’S PROVISIONS —— REQUIRED SEPARATION DISTANCES UNDER CURRENT LAW AND AS REVISED BY THE BILL. Generally, Code chapter 459, subchapter II regulates air quality by requiring a number of separation distances between a benefited object or location and both: (1) an operation’s structure (Code sections 459.202 and 459.203) and (2) the place where manure is used when removed from a structure, including for land application if the manure is liquid (Code section 459.204) or for temporary stockpiling if the manure is solid (Code section 459.204B). Under the bill, a small animal feeding operation existing prior to the bill’s effective date would continue to be exempt from separation distance requirements but could expand only under certain circumstances: (1) it could not involve the construction or expansion of an unformed manure storage structure, but could involve the replacement of such structure with a formed manure storage structure, and (2) it would have to comply with the separation distance requirement otherwise applicable to the same kind of structure that is part of an operation that was not exempted (New Code section 459.203A).
   BACKGROUND —— SEPARATION DISTANCE REQUIREMENTS. The separation distance required between a benefited object or location and an operation’s structure is contingent upon several criteria: first, when the operation’s structure was constructed or expanded, and second, the operation’s size as determined by calculating its confined animal capacity which is either its animal weight capacity or animal unit capacity (AUC).
   BACKGROUND —— TERMS. An operation includes a totally roofed building where certain confined agricultural animals are maintained for 45 days or more in any 12-month period. An operation’s structure includes a building, egg washwater storage structure, or one of two types of manure storage structures: formed or unformed. A formed structure has walls and a floor constructed of durable materials such as concrete as compared to an unformed structure such as an anaerobic lagoon. The Code chapter also refers to a number of different types of benefited objects or locations including a residence (home), religious institution (e.g., a church), educational institution (e.g., a public or nonpublic school), commercial enterprise (e.g., a business other than a farm), public thoroughfare (e.g., road), or a public use area (e.g., a park or cemetery). AUC calculates the maximum number of animal units that may be maintained as part of an operation at any one time. A small animal feeding operation has a maximum-size AUC of 500 animal units. A small confinement feeding operation has a maximum size of 300 animal units.
   BACKGROUND —— CALCULATING ACU. In calculating an operation’s ACU, each of various types of confined agricultural animals is assigned a special equivalency factor. For example, each sheep or lamb has an equivalency factor of 0.10 animal units (Code section 459.102). In order to qualify as a small animal feeding operation, an operation must have a maximum AUC of not more than 5,000 of such animals (500 ÷ 0.10 = 5,000). Under the bill, that maximum ACU would be reduced to 3,000 animals (300 ÷ 0.10 = 3,000).
   EFFECTIVE DATE. The bill, if enacted, would take effect upon enactment.