Iowa legislature has passed another bill regulating animal production with respect to air quality and manure nutrient planting. 7 provisions are being attempted. These are facility size, air quality, manure management plans, phosphorus planning, fees, matrices and separation distances.
For facility size there are two thresholds 1) manure management plans are required for facilities with 200,00 lbs of bodyweight capacity, 2) construction permits are required for those with 625,000 pounds of bodyweight capacity. Air quality standards are to be established at the separated distances (for homes, businesses, etc) from the livestock facility. Two significant changes to manure management plans have been made. These are 1) the requirement to submit plans annually if your confinement facility has 500 animal units and new confinement facilities with 1000 animal units must obtain construction permits before building and 2) the switch to phosphorus planning. Phosphorus planning will specify the phosphorus application rates allowed based on the phosphorus index.
Fees include charges for new manure management plans, construction permits and a per animal unit compliance fee. A matrix gives local citizens a voice in that they may elect to rate new facilities for construction. The final provision is separation distances where rivers and lakes were added to the list of designated areas requiring a 200-foot setback for manure application. For more information check the IMMAG website at: http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/immag