SF 2264 (LSB 6630XS (7) 91)

SENATE FILE 2264

BY  STAED

A BILL FOR

An Act providing for a manure management planning map.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  459.311F  Manure management planning map.
   1.  The department shall prepare and publish on its internet site a manure management planning map to assist a person applying manure originating from an animal feeding operation.
   2.  The manure management planning map shall be part of an interactive computer program. The map shall be in the form of a digital dynamic map that incorporates geographic information system technology in a manner that allows a user to immediately identify areas that are vulnerable to pollution caused by manure application due to one or more factors identified by the department, including but not limited to any of the following:
   a.  Terrain, including karst terrain, and topography.
   b.  The effect of climatic conditions.
   c.  The proximity to a designated area or a water source, including a high-quality water resource.
   d.  A field that is included in more than one manure management plan or nutrient management plan as provided in section 459A.208. If manure, including open feedlot effluent, originating from more than one animal feeding operation is to be applied to a field, the map shall indicate the months during which the manure from that animal feeding operation is to be applied to that field.
   3.  The manure management planning map shall be designed to assist a person to apply manure in the most efficient practical manner possible while reducing risks associated with runoff, including by adjusting application rates and timing.
    Sec. 2.  Section 459.312, subsection 10, Code 2026, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  0c.  A verification that the person consults the manure management planning map as provided in section 459.311F prior to application.
    Sec. 3.  Section 459A.208, subsection 7, Code 2026, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  0c.  A verification that the person consults the manure management planning map as provided in section 459.311F prior to application.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   BACKGROUND. An animal feeding operation (AFO) is regulated by the department of natural resources (DNR) under several Code chapters, including Code chapter 459 governing all AFOs, which includes provisions regulating confinement feeding operations, and Code chapter 459A, which includes selected provisions regulating open feedlot operations. An AFO is an area in which agricultural animals are confined for 45 days or more in any 12-month period, and all associated structures used for the storage of manure. A confinement feeding operation maintains animals in roofed buildings and stores liquid manure in a formed or unformed structure (see Code section 459.102). An open feedlot operation is an unroofed or partially roofed facility without crop, vegetation, or forage growth or residue cover (Code section 459A.102). Manure from an open feedlot operation includes solids that may not be stored in a structure (stockpiled). Open feedlot effluent refers to a combination of manure, precipitation-induced runoff, or other runoff from an open feedlot before its settleable solids have been removed. Both Code chapters regulate the application of manure, often pursuant to a plan required to be filed with DNR. In the case of a confinement feeding operation, the plan is referred to as a manure management plan (MMP) (Code section 459.312) covering manure, including liquid manure, and in the case of an open feedlot operation, the plan is referred to as a nutrient management plan (NMP) (Code section 459A.208) covering effluent.
   BILL’S PROVISIONS. This bill requires DNR to prepare and publish on its internet site a manure management planning map (MMPM) to assist a person applying manure originating from an AFO. The MMPM must be part of an interactive program in the form of a digital dynamic map that identifies areas vulnerable to the application of manure based on a number of factors determined by DNR. The factors must at least include terrain and topography, the effect of climatic conditions, and proximity to a designated area or a water source. A designated area refers to a known sinkhole, a cistern, an abandoned well, an unplugged agricultural drainage well, an agricultural drainage well surface inlet, a drinking water well, a designated wetland (designated as a protected wetland by the United States department of the interior or DNR), or a water source (a lake, river, reservoir, creek, stream, ditch, or other body of water or channel having definite banks and a bed with water flow). An MMPM must also identify fields that are included in more than one MMP or NMP. A person completing a manure management plan (in the case of a confinement feeding operation) or nutrient management plan (in the case of an open feedlot operation) must verify that the person consults with the MMPM prior to application.