KEEPING THE . COWS IN WISCONSIN BUSINESS ASSOCIATION August 6, 2015 Mr. Lance Pliml Wood County Board of Supervisors, Chairman 4030 Woodhaven Court Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494 Dear Chairman Pliml: This letter is written on behalf of the Dairy Business Association (DBA) and its Wood County members, regarding the proposed Animal Waste Storage, Nutrient Management and Groundwater Protection Ordinance. DBA urges you to vote against this pr0posed ordinance, which has a questionable legal basis. This type of regulation is unnecessary andpotentially counterproductive. - When the County Board previously discussed the proposed ordinance, Corporation Counsel Peter Kastenholz was clear that he did not believe the county has the authority to impose its own groundwater standards. The authority to produce such regulations has been granted to Wisconsin - Department of Natural Resources it has not been delegated to the counties. This is no doubt why the most recent ordinance draft avoids, direct groundwater regulation and attempts to address this issue through manure storage standards and the implementation of nutrient management plans (NMPS). These are areas over which counties have had some limited authority. The ordinance?s attempt to walk the ?ne line between legality and illegality calls its enforceability into question. At a minimum, concerns over the legality of certain provisions will likely produce legal challenges if enforcement attempts are made. For example, the ordinance has the potential to require M5 for some very small farming operations. Any farmer who builds or alters a manure storage facility is subject to the requirements of the new ordinance, which includes the preparation of an NMP. Nutrient management planning is and should be encouraged, but it is doubtful the county can require it for farms unless the county provides cost sharing. (See ATCP Large farms that ?t the legal de?nition of CAFO already have to prepare NMPs. This ordinance would impose additional requirements on such farms. This could create an issue if/when the requirements in a county manure storage permit con?ict with the state requirements these farms must follow. This ordinance sets the stage for-a situation where the county would deny a permit to a farm seeking to make an alteration to their manure storage that is required of them by WDNR. This ordinance is meant to safeguard groundwater quality, but it will likely discourage investments in new technologies and facilities that would better prevent the possibility of nus. no. Box 15505 1 Green Bay, WI 543076505 1 Phone: 920.883.0020 - .. . . mm?. Page 2 groundwater contamination. Existing manure storage facilities are not generally subject to regulation under the proposed ordinance, unless they are altered in some way. This would discourage farmers from adding additional storage or updating existing facilities because that would subject them to all of the requirements associated with an animal waste storage plan. Discouraging investment and improvements on farms is-not good public policy. Farmers that only stack manure but might be considering constructing a more secure manure storage facility could be discouraged by the ordinance requirements. This could prevent them from growing their herd size and leave them stacking manure even if the runoff risk ?'orn their stacking location is far greaterthan it would be from a new manure storage facility. We want to encourage farmers to grow, invest, and innovate. This ordinance does the opposite. - Agriculture plays a vital rule in Wood County economies. Ourfarmers are valuable members of our community. They are our neighbors and we know them to be good stewards of the land. This ordinance is a solution in search of a problem. There is no reason to believe that groundwater Quality is signi?cant concern in Wood County, nor that it is likely to become one. DBA asks you to seriously consider whether this ordinance is worth the added costs to farmers and all the taxpayers of Wood County, especially considering that portions of it may be unenforceable. Unfortunately, this ordinance appears to be an. example of legislating rules for the entire county based upon unfounded concerns regarding one proposed farm in one small section of the county. Wood County is home to a handful of geographic regions, two radically different types of soil, - nearly three dozen municipalities, and approximately 1,000 farms ranging ?om cranberries to- dairy. It is a diverse place. Even if the pr0posed ordinance was a sensible approach for southern" Wood County, which it is not, it would make absolutely no sense for the clay ?elds found in the northern portion of the county. To dictate policy for the entire county based upon incorrect perceptions that only relate to a small corner of the county anyway is foolish. It would be bad governance, and we ask that you reject itRegardsohn Holevoet Director of Government A?airs cc: Wood County Board of Supervisors - DBA RU. Box 13505 Green Bay, WI 54307-3505 Phone: 920.883.0020 I