House File 398 - IntroducedA Bill ForAn Act 1requiring that a person submit a bond with a manure
2management plan associated with a confinement feeding
3operation, and including effective date provisions.
4BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1   Section 1.  Section 459.303, subsection 3, paragraph b, Code
22019, is amended to read as follows:
   3b.  A manure management plan as provided in section 459.312
4and, a manure management plan filing fee as provided in section
5459.400, and evidence that a surety bond has been furnished to
6the department as provided in section 459.312
.
7   Sec. 2.  Section 459.303, subsection 7, Code 2019, is amended
8by adding the following new paragraph:
9   NEW PARAGRAPH.  c.  The department shall not issue a
10permit to a person under this section if a surety bond
11furnished to the department under section 459.312 has
12expired, been canceled, been suspended, or been revoked.
13This paragraph applies to a permit for the construction of a
14confinement feeding operation structure regardless of whether
15the confinement feeding operation structure is part of a
16confinement feeding operation described in the bond.
17   Sec. 3.  Section 459.312, Code 2019, is amended by adding the
18following new subsection:
19   NEW SUBSECTION.  6A.  The department shall not approve an
20original manure management plan or an updated manure management
21plan, unless it is accompanied with evidence that a surety bond
22has been furnished to the department by a surety. However, the
23department may approve an original manure management plan on
24the condition that the bond be furnished prior to the date that
25manure is stored in the manure storage structure described in
26the manure management plan.
   27a.  The surety must be a business entity organized or formed
28in this state or otherwise authorized to do business in this
29state as a surety company and be approved by the department
30according to criteria established by the department. The bond
31shall be in the amount of ten million dollars.
   32b.  The bond shall run to the state, and guarantee payment
33to the state of costs directly attributable to a violation of
34section 459.311 that causes a discharge of manure from a manure
35storage structure as described in the manure management plan.
-1-1The costs shall be limited to any of the following:
   2(1)  The reimbursement of moneys expended by the state, a
3political subdivision, or an agent of the state or a political
4subdivision, for reasonable costs of providing for containment
5or cleanup. The reimbursement may cover costs associated with
6cleaning up the confinement feeding operation and remediating
7contamination which originates from the confinement feeding
8operation, pursuant to sections 455B.381 through 455B.399.
   9(2)  The restoration of wild animal populations or habitat,
10to the extent that any payment received under the bond is not
11duplicative of a restitution payment received by the state
12under section 481A.151.
   13(3)  Payment of a judgment award recovered by a person in a
14civil action for actual property damages, including reasonable
15attorney’s fees. The bond shall be open to successive judgment
16awards caused by the same violation.
   17c.  The total and aggregate liability of the surety for all
18claims by the state arising from the violation shall be limited
19to the face of the bond.
   20d.  The bond shall not expire until sixty days after
21expiration of the manure management plan. The surety shall
22not cancel the bond without providing for at least forty-five
23days’ notice by certified mail to the department and the
24owner required to submit the manure management plan. When
25the department receives a notice of cancellation, and a bond
26is still required, the department shall automatically suspend
27the manure management plan if the department does not receive
28a replacement bond within thirty days of the delivery of the
29notice of cancellation. If a replacement bond is not furnished
30to the department within ten days following the suspension, the
31department shall automatically revoke the manure management
32plan. In addition, the department shall disapprove all pending
33permit applications for the construction of a confinement
34feeding operation structure filed with the department by the
35owner as provided in section 459.303.
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1   Sec. 4.  Section 481A.151, subsection 1, Code 2019, is
2amended to read as follows:
   31.  a.  A person who is liable for polluting a water of this
4state in violation of state law, including this chapter, shall
5also be liable to pay restitution to the department for injury
6caused to a wild animal by the pollution. The amount of the
7restitution shall also include the department’s administrative
8costs for investigating the incident.
   9b.  The administration of this section shall not result in
10a duplication of damages collected by the department under
11section 455B.392, subsection 1, paragraph “a”, subparagraph (3)
 12or section 459.312, subsection 6A.
13   Sec. 5.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act, being deemed of immediate
14importance, takes effect upon enactment.
15EXPLANATION
16The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
17the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   18GENERAL. This bill amends Code chapter 459, referred to as
19the “Animal Agriculture Compliance Act”, which is administered
20and enforced by the department of natural resources (DNR).
21 The Code chapter in part regulates the housing of animals in
22a building and the storage and application of animal manure
23originating from a confinement feeding operation (operation),
24including a manure storage structure (structure). The bill
25addresses two documents filed by the owner of an operation
26with DNR when it administers water quality regulations: (1)
27an application for a construction permit (permit) issued by
28DNR that authorizes the construction, including expansion, of
29a structure (Code section 459.303) and a manure management
30plan (MMP) governing the storage and application of manure
31originating from the operation (Code section 459.312).
   32BILL’S PROVISIONS. The bill provides that DNR cannot
33approve an MMP unless the owner furnishes a surety bond for
34$10 million for the purpose of paying costs resulting from the
35discharge of manure from the owner’s operation. Moneys payable
-3-1under the bond must be used in cases in which the discharge
2has caused property damage. The moneys must be used to: (1)
3reimburse the state or a political subdivision, or an agent
4of the state or political subdivision, for costs associated
5with containment or cleanup; (2) the restoration of wild animal
6populations or habitat; and (3) the payment of a judgment
7award recovered by a plaintiff in a civil action. The bill
8provides for the expiration or cancellation of the bond. DNR
9is authorized to suspend or revoke an MMP if a replacement bond
10is not filed. The bill also provides that DNR is prohibited
11from issuing a permit to the owner authorizing the construction
12of any structure if a bond covering an operation has expired,
13been canceled, been suspended, or been revoked.
   14BACKGROUND — OPERATIONS AND MMPS. An operation is a
15location in which certain confined agricultural animals are
16housed in one or more buildings for at least 45 days during
17any 12-month period (Code section 459.102). Generally, an
18operation must retain manure that is produced at the location
19until the manure is transported and used according to water
20quality requirements (e.g., via application on farmland) (see
21Code section 459.311). An MMP refers to both an original
22document and a document which updates the original plan.
23An updated plan must be filed with DNR on an annual basis
24(Code section 459.312). A permit is required to construct a
25structure including a confinement building or associated manure
26storage structure (either formed or unformed) (Code section
27459.102). As part of the application for a permit, the owner
28must have filed an MMP.
   29EFFECTIVE DATE. The bill, if enacted, would take effect upon
30enactment.
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