Relating to animal feeding operations, by providing for certain air and water quality regulations, including when two or more related confinement feeding operations are deemed to be a single operation, making penalties applicable, and including effective date and applicability provisions

BILL’S PROVISIONS —— GENERAL. This bill amends the “Animal Agriculture Compliance Act” (Code chapter 459) which in part provides for the regulation of animal feeding operations where agricultural animals are maintained for at least days in any 12-month period and includes open feedlots and confinement feeding operations (operations) including associated confinement feeding operation structures (structures), such as buildings or manure storage structures. The Code chapter is administered and enforced by the department of natural resources (DNR). Generally, regulations vary based on the size of an operation measured by its animal unit capacity (AUC). BILL’S PROVISIONS —— RELATED CONFINEMENT FEEDING OPERATIONS. The bill provides that for purposes of administering and enforcing Code chapter 459, subchapter II, providing for air quality regulations, and subchapter III, providing for water quality regulations, two or more operations are deemed to be a single operation if they are related. The operations are related if a structure that is part of one operation is separated by less than 2,500 feet from a structure that is part of the other operation and certain alternative conditions apply. The first condition occurs if the confinement feeding operations utilize some common method of manure storage or common area or system for manure disposal. The second condition occurs when the confinement feeding operations utilize a common item or service such as a private road, private water well, utility connection, or other personal property described by DNR rule. the real property where the operations are located. If the person is a business entity, the business entity’s interest is attributable to any person who owns an interest in the entity or who is an employee, manager, or officer of the entity., spouse, child, or brother or sister). A person’s interest does not include the acquisition of property by a number of devices including by operation of law, an encumbrance taken as a security, or under contract with a government entity. BACKGROUND —— CURRENT LAW —— ADJACENCY. For purposes of air quality regulation, two or more animal feeding operations under common ownership or management are deemed to be a single animal feeding operation if they are adjacent or utilize a common system for manure storage and are separated within a minimum distance from each other based on the size of the operation. For purposes of water quality regulation, two or more animal feeding operations under common ownership or management are deemed to be a single operation if they are adjacent or utilize a common area or system for manure disposal and are separated by another set of separation distances again based on the size of the operation. BACKGROUND —— AUC. AUC refers to a measurement used to determine the maximum number of animal units that may be maintained as part of an animal feeding operation at any one time. In calculating AUC, a special equivalency factor is assigned for each classification of confined animal. BACKGROUND —— ENFORCEMENT AND APPLICABLE CIVIL PENALTIES.103).602 provides for civil penalties that may be assessed for violations of Code chapter 459, subchapter II (air quality regulations).109, which provides for the administrative assessment of civil penalties of up to $10,000. violations of Code chapter 459, subchapter III (water quality regulations).191, which provides for a general civil penalty assessed judicially of up to $5,000. EFFECTIVE DATE. The bill takes effect upon enactment. APPLICABILITY. The bill does not apply to a person who has begun construction of a confinement feeding operation structure prior to the bill’s effective date.