[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of Grant County 5-19-1999 by Ord. No. 37; amended in its entirety 4-17-2018 by Ord. No. 37. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter is adopted under authority granted by § 92.16,
Wis. Stats.
This chapter may be cited as the "Grant County Animal Waste
Storage and Nutrient Utilization Ordinance" and is herein referred
to as "this chapter."
A.
The Grant County Board of Supervisors finds that animal waste storage
facilities that do not meet technical design and construction standards,
as well as improper management and utilization of the animal waste
from these storage facilities, may cause pollution of the surface
and ground waters of Grant County, and result in potential harm to
the health of county residents and transients and to livestock, aquatic
life and other animals and plants, thereby damaging the tax base of
Grant County.
B.
The Grant County Board of Supervisors further finds that the technical
standards developed by the USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service
and adopted by the Grant County Land and Water Conservation Committee
provides are effective and environmentally safe methods of storing
and utilizing animal waste.
The purpose of this chapter is to regulate the location, design,
construction, installation, alteration, closure and the use of animal
waste storage facilities, including the transfer of wastes into storage
facilities and the utilization of animal waste from these facilities
covered by this chapter, in order to prevent water pollution, protect
the water resources and provide for safety of people and animals of
Grant County. It is also intended to provide for the administration
and enforcement of this chapter and to provide reasonable penalties
for its violation.
This chapter shall apply to the unincorporated areas of Grant
County.
In the interpretation and application, provisions of this chapter
shall be held to be minimum requirements and shall be liberally construed
in favor of Grant County, and shall not be deemed a limitation or
repeal of any other power granted by the Wisconsin Statutes or County
ordinances.
If any section, provision, or portion of this chapter is ruled
invalid by a court, the remainder of this chapter shall not for that
reason be rendered ineffective.
This chapter shall become effective upon its adoption and publication
by the Grant County Board of Supervisors.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
shall be used. Words used in the present tense include the future;
the singular number includes the plural number; the plural number
includes the singular number; the word "shall" is mandatory and not
discretionary. Words and phrases not defined herein shall be construed
according to common and approved usage, but technical words and phrases
and others that have a peculiar meaning shall be construed according
to such meaning unless such construction would produce a result inconsistent
with the manifest intent of this chapter.
Livestock excreta and other materials that may be included
in the stored waste, such as bedding, rain or other water, soil, hair,
feathers, and other debris, including milkhouse waste normally included
in animal waste handling operations.
A concrete, steel, or otherwise fabricated structure, or
an earthen facility of constructed earth dikes, excavated pits or
ponds, or a combination of these, used for storage of animal waste.
This chapter applies to all facilities on one operation that stores
a cumulative amount of animal waste volume totaling 7,000 cubic feet
or more (approximately 24 feet by 24 feet by 12 feet).
Any person who applies for a permit under this chapter.
The solid or consolidated rock formation typically underlying
loose surficial material such as soil, alluvium or glacial drift.
Bedrock includes but is not limited to limestone, dolomite, sandstone,
shale and igneous and metamorphic rock.
The legal authority for Grant County.
An animal waste storage facility which is no longer being
used for its intended purpose and/or no longer having any additional
animal waste placed into it for a period of 24 months.
Any and all members appointed to the LWCC, personnel employed
by the Grant County Land and Water Conservation Department (LWCD)
and those personnel employed by support agencies.
A written plan detailing amount, form, placement, and timing
of the application of plant nutrients. This includes nutrients from
the animal waste storage facilities, commercial fertilizers, legume
crops and crop residues.
The signed, written statement issued by the Grant County
LWCC under this chapter authorizing the applicant to construct, install,
reconstruct, enlarge, substantially alter or close an animal waste
storage facility, and to use or dispose of waste from the facility.
Any person to whom a permit is issued under this chapter.
Any individual, corporation, partnership, joint venture,
agency, unincorporated association, municipal corporation, county,
or state agency, the federal government, or any combination thereof.
A private engineer or government entity that is retained
by the applicant to provide an animal waste storage plan that meets
all aspects of this chapter.
The following criteria apply:
Free water or wet soil identified by glistening, due to the
slow release of water.
Gleyed soil, that may extend uninterrupted from an observed
free water surface.
The presence of distinct gray redoximorphic features with a
chroma of two or less based on Munsell color charts.
Depleted matrices having a value of four or more and chroma
of two or less based on Munsell color charts. In some cases soil parent
materials have a natural color of two chroma or less or gleyed color
that is not due to saturation. In these cases other indicators may
be used: landscape position, elevation or soils in relation to nearby
water features.
The Wisconsin Field Office Technical Guide (WI-FOTG) is the
primary technical reference tool used in accomplishing the Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) mission. WI-FOTG contains technical
reference material to be used when planning, designing, applying,
and maintaining conservation practices as adopted by the Grant County
LWCC.
Any and all personnel employed by the USDA-NRCS and those
personnel employed by support agencies.
Any act or condition contaminating or rendering unclean or
impure the ground or surface waters of the state, or making the same
injurious to public health, harmful for commercial or recreational
use, or deleterious to fish, bird, animal, or plant life.
A.
General requirement. A permit is required for any person who constructs,
installs, reconstructs, enlarges, substantially alters or closes an
animal waste storage facility, or who employs another person to do
the same, on land subject to this chapter and shall be subject to
the provisions of this chapter.
B.
Idle animal waste storage facility. Any person who owns an animal
waste storage facility that has been determined to be idle must lower
the level of the animal waste in the facility to an elevation of one
foot above the floor of the facility within a period of six months
from the date the facility was determined to be idle. The animal waste
shall be uniformly spread on cropland or pasture in a manner that
is safe for the environment.
C.
Compliance with permit requirements. A person is in compliance with
this chapter if he or she follows the procedures of this chapter,
receives a permit from the LWCC before beginning activities subject
to regulation under this section, and complies with the requirements
of the permit.
A.
A.The most current version of NRCS Technical Standards and Wisconsin
Conservation Technical Notes shall be used to meet all requirements
in this chapter that refer to technical standards and notes. Future
amendments to the NRCS Technical Standards and Wisconsin Conservation
Technical Notes are incorporated into and made part of this chapter
effective the date of adoption by USDA-NRCS, unless otherwise acted
upon by the County Board of Supervisors. Copies of current standards
cited in this chapter are available from the CSZD or online at http://www.wi.nrcs.gov/technical/.
B.
Standard
for nutrient management. Nutrient management of all animal waste from
permitted storage facilities shall be handled and comply with all
of the provisions of the Wisconsin Field Office Technical Guide 590,
issued by the USDA, NRCS, ATCP 50.04(3) and 90.14(9) of this chapter.
A.
Permit required. No person shall undertake an activity subject to
this chapter without first obtaining a permit from the LWCC prior
to beginning the proposed activity.
B.
Exception to permit requirement. Normal maintenance, such as bolt
replacement or pump repair, and emergency repairs such as repairing
a broken pipe or equipment, or the removal of stoppages may be performed
without a permit. Any repairs significantly altering the original
design or construction of a facility shall be reported to the LWCC
office within three working days of the emergency for a determination
by the LWCC whether the repairs made were reasonably necessary to
respond to the existing emergency. The LWCC determination shall be
rendered within one business day of the reporting whether a permit
shall be required for any work deemed to constitute additional alteration
or repair to the facility in excess of that reasonably necessary to
respond to the emergency.
Each application for a permit under this section shall include
an animal waste storage facility plan and a nutrient management plan.
Plans must be in accordance with applicable standards.
A.
Animal waste storage facility plan. Construction plans may be developed
through the Grant County LWCD, state or federal governmental agencies
or civil, agricultural, structural or sanitary professional engineer
registered in the State of Wisconsin. Plans developed by a registered
professional engineer must bear the engineer's seal and be accompanied
by verification that the plan is in accordance with applicable standards.
In addition to the management and site assessment documentation noted
in NRCS Standard 313, the plan shall specify:
(1)
A plan view of the facility and its location in relation to buildings
within 250 feet and homes within 500 feet of the proposed facility.
The sketch shall be drawn to scale, with a scale no smaller than one
inch equals 100 feet.
(2)
The North arrow, scale of the drawing, legal description of location
of the proposed facility, description and elevation of a temporary
benchmark.
(3)
The structural details, including, but not limited to dimensions,
cross sections, concrete thickness, reinforcing steel location, design
loading details and all computations necessary for the design.
(4)
The location of any wells within 500 feet of the facility.
(5)
The soil test pit locations, including test from borrow area, elevations
and soil descriptions to a depth of at least five feet below the planned
bottom of the facility. A professional soil scientist or a registered
professional engineer, or their representative, must be present for
soil test pit excavation.
(6)
The elevation of subsurface saturation or bedrock if encountered
in the soil profile and the date of any such determinations.
(7)
Provisions for adequate drainage and control of runoff to prevent
pollution of surface water and subsurface saturation areas. If a body
of water lies within 500 feet of the facility, the location and distance
to the body of water shall be shown.
(8)
A time schedule for construction of the facility.
B.
A nutrient management plan. Plans shall be developed by a qualified
person as defined in ATCP 50 and that conforms with USDA-NRCS Nutrient
Management (590) Standard. The plan must show that the landowner has
control of enough acres to spread all the animal waste stored in the
facility.
C.
Closure of animal waste storage facility. If the applicant wishes
to close an animal waste storage facility, the applicant must submit
a closure plan for approval by Grant County LWCC and obtain a permit
for the closure. The applicant seeking to close an animal waste storage
facility must comply with all of the applicable standards of this
chapter.
A.
The LWCC shall review all permit applications and plans and determine if the proposed facility meets required standards set forth in § 90-11 of this chapter.
B.
Within 45 days after receiving the completed application, plans and
fee, the LWCC shall inform the applicant, in writing, whether the
permit application and plans are approved and whether they will issue
the permit.
C.
If additional information is required, the LWCC shall so notify the
permit applicant. The LWCC has 15 days from receipt of the additional
information in which to approve or disapprove the application and
plans.
D.
If the LWCC fails to approve or disapprove the permit application
and plans, in writing, within 15 days of receipt of the additional
information, the application and plans shall be deemed approved and
the applicant may proceed as if a permit had been issued.
E.
In the case of disapproval, the LWCC shall inform the applicant,
in writing, of the reasons for disapproval.
All permits issued under this chapter shall be issued subject
to the following conditions and requirements:
B.
The permittee shall give five working days' notice to the LWCC
before starting any construction activity authorized by the permit.
C.
Approval, in writing, must be obtained from the LWCC prior to any
modifications to the animal waste storage facility plan after a permit
has been issued.
D.
Within 30 days after the completion of the construction of the animal
waste storage facility and prior to the entrance of any animal waste
into the facility, the plan developer, shall certify, in writing:
"To the best of my professional knowledge, judgment and belief, the
installed practice meets NRCS standards (list standard numbers and
titles)." Entrance of animal waste into the animal waste storage structure
prior to developer certification shall be a violation of the permit
and of this chapter.
E.
Activities authorized by permit must be completed within one year
from the date of issuance after which such permit shall be void, unless
an extension is granted through the LWCC.
The LWCC may revoke any permit issued under this chapter if
the holder of the permit has misrepresented any material fact in the
permit application, if the holder of the permit violates any of the
conditions of the permit, this chapter or any of the standards referred
to in this chapter.
A.
Delegation of authority. The agencies designated to administer and
enforce this chapter are the LWCC and the Corporate Counsel for Grant
County.
B.
Administrative duties. In the administration and enforcement of this
chapter, LWCC shall:
(1)
Receive and review all permit applications and plans. Keep an accurate
record of all permit applications, animal waste storage facility and
nutrient management plans, permits issued, inspections made, and other
official actions.
(2)
Provide construction inspection as needed to those facilities whose
plan developer was a County, state or federal governmental agency.
(3)
Investigate complaints relating to compliance with this chapter.
(4)
Approve or deny permits.
(5)
The LWCC may monitor the maintenance of the animal waste storage
facilities and the nutrient management plans.
(6)
Perform other duties as specified in this chapter.
C.
Inspection authority. The LWCC and its supporting agencies are authorized
to enter upon any lands affected by this chapter to inspect the land
prior to or after permit issuance to determine compliance with this
chapter. If permission cannot be received from the applicant or permittee,
entry by the LWCC shall be according to § 92.07(14), Wis.
Stats.
D.
Enforcement authority.
(1)
The LWCC is authorized to post an order stopping work upon the construction
site that has had a permit revoked or on the construction site currently
undergoing activity in violation of this chapter. Notice is given
by both posting upon the site where the violation occurs one or more
copies of a poster stating the violation, and by mailing a copy of
the order by certified mail to the person whose activity is in violation
of this chapter. The order shall specify that the activity shall cease
immediately. Failure to comply with such an order shall constitute
a separate and independent violation of this chapter.
(2)
Any permit revocation or order stopping work shall remain in effect
until retracted by the LWCC, or by a court of competent jurisdiction,
or, until the activity is brought into compliance with this chapter,
as determined by the LWCC.
A violation includes any failure to comply with any standard
of this chapter or with any condition or qualification attached to
any permit or any failure to comply with notice of a permit revocation
or stop-work order. Each day that a violation exists shall be a separate
offense.
A.
Penalties. Any person who violates, neglects or refuses to comply
with, or resists the enforcement of any of the provisions of this
chapter shall be subject to a forfeiture of not less than $25 nor
more than $500, plus costs of prosecution, for each violation. Each
day that a violation exists shall be a separate offense.
B.
Enforcement by injunction. As a substitute for, or in addition to
forfeiture actions, Grant County may seek enforcement of any part
of this chapter by court actions seeking injunctions or restraining
orders.
A.
Authority. The Grant County LWCC shall hear and decide appeals where
it is alleged that there is error in any order, requirement, decision,
or determination made by the LWCC in administering this chapter.
B.
Procedure. Any appeal shall be made by written request, mailed or
delivered to the Grant County Land and Water Conservation Committee
c/o Land Conservation Office, 150 W. Alona Lane, Lancaster, WI 53813.
The request shall state the ground or grounds upon which it is contended
that the decision should be modified or reversed. The LWCC shall,
as soon as possible, but within 45 days, review the determination
under appeal.
C.
Statutory administrative review and certiorari. The decision of the
Grant County LWCC shall be subject to further administrative review
by the Grant County Board of Adjustment if a written appeal seeking
such review is filed within 30 days after the decision of the Committee.
The decision of the Board of Adjustment shall be subject to judicial
review if, within 30 days after the decision of the Board of Adjustment
an action seeking the remedy available by certiorari is commenced,
as authorized by section of the Grant County Code of Ordinances and §§ 59.99,
Wis. Stat.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See § 59.694, Wis. Stats.
D.
Who may appeal. Appeals may be initiated by any person having a substantial
interest that is adversely affected by the order, requirement, decision,
or determination for which review is sought within 30 days from the
order, requirement, decision, or determination made by the LWCC in
administering this chapter.
