DNR Board Slated To Vote On CAFO Manure Restrictions

The state Department of Natural Resources is set to vote on new restrictions on large farms’ manure spreading in hopes of protecting eastern Wisconsin groundwater.

The regulations have been in the works for two years largely in response to widespread drinking water contamination in Kewaunee County. The DNR’s initial version called for statewide restrictions but the dairy industry balked at the cost. The agency scaled the regulations back to 15 eastern counties with Silurian bedrock under their soil.

In those areas — where there’s a relatively thin layer of soil over fractured bedrock — animal waste can more easily get into ground or surface water.

Under the regulations, farms with less than 2 feet of soil over the bedrock would be prohibited from applying any manure. Farms with 2 feet to 20 feet of topsoil would have to abide by gallon limitations dependent on soil depth.

Charlie Frisk, vice president of the Clean Water Action Council of Northeast Wisconsin, said while the plan is a step in the right direction, it’s inadequate.

“It’s better than nothing, which is why we’re fighting hard to get it,” Frisk said. “We figure maybe this is possibly a start, from which we can eventually hope to get more adequate rules.”

Frisk said the rule should be strengthened to require more soil over the bedrock, before allowing manure to be spread.

Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce — an association of manufacturers, service businesses and chambers of commerce located in Madison — has been pushing for more business-friendly changes to make the new rules what the group calls “proper and legal.”

The DNR’s board is set to vote on the regulations Wednesday.