Lawmakers are quickly moving a bill through the legislature, which would exempt many farmers from having to have adequate storage for animal manure over the winter months.
 
The House Ag Committee unanimously passed HF 2324 this morning, a bill that would gut Iowa DNR rules regarding the application of manure on frozen and snow-covered ground a major cause of water pollution in Iowa. This bill was pushed through the House Ag committee less than 24 hours after it was introduced late Monday afternoon.
 
DNR has proposed rules that would require existing facilities to have at least 100 days of storage, in order to qualify for an emergency exemption for winter application because of full storage structures.  But HF 2324 exempts confinement feeding operations constructed before July 1, 2009 from this rule.  Specifically the bill states:
 
“A confinement feeding operation constructed before July 1, 2009, and not expanded after that date is not required to construct or expand a manure storage structure to comply with this section.”  
 
Lack of adequate manure storage during winter months is a major cause of water pollution in Iowa.  Without adequate storage, farmers apply the manure to frozen or snow-covered farm fields, risking run-off into nearby streams at the first thaw or rain.
 
Please click here to send an e-mail to your elected officials, asking them to vote NO on HF 2324.