Citizen members confirmed for Dunn County CAFO study group

By LeAnn R. Ralph

MENOMONIE —  Six citizen members have been named to Dunn County’s Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation study group.

Steve Rasmussen, chair of the Dunn County Board, named the citizen members of the study group at the Dunn County Planning, Resources and Development Committee’s November 8 meeting.

Citizen members include Dave Styer (Alfalawn Farm, Menomonie); Lee Jenson (Five Star Dairy, Elk Mound); Rachel Kummer (Rock Falls; dairy farmer); Randy Koehler (Rock Falls; dairy farmer); Kathy Stahl (Colfax; co-chair of the Lower Chippewa Invasives Partnership and a volunteer stream monitor); and Ron Verdon (chair of the Tainter Menomin Lake Improvement Association).

The study group also will include members of the PR&D committee; the chair of the Dunn County Health and Human Services board (or a designee); the county planner and zoning administrator; the county’s land and water conservationist; and a representative from the the UW-Extension system.

During Dunn County’s six-month moratorium on CAFOs, the study group will be working to assess the impacts to groundwater, surface water, air quality, the economy, transportation and other resources, to determine if there are any gaps in county enforcement of ordinances and whether the state is adequately monitoring CAFOs.

The scope of the group’s work also will include formulating proposals to mitigate problems defined by the study group.

The ordinance establishing a moratorium was published November 2, so the moratorium will expire in May of 2017.

Based on the moratorium’s expiration date, the study group is expected to present a report to the Dunn County Board at the May 17, 2017, meeting, said Bob Colson, Dunn County planning and zoning administrator.

The PR&D committee will receive the study group’s report in April of 2017. The group will have from the end of November or early December until late March or early April to complete the work, Colson said.

Facilitator 

The study group also will need a facilitator and someone to take notes.

Colson suggested that the West Central Regional Planning Commission may be able to facilitate.

Asking a county employee to act as a facilitator would mean that the employee would not be available to act as a consultant to the group, Colson noted.

If any of the study group’s recommendations require a public hearing, the notice deadlines for a public hearing would shorten the working timeline available, he said.

Recommendations that would require a public hearing would include any new ordinances or ordinance amendments.

“I think we should hire a facilitator from regional planning and not tie up staff,” said Gary Seipel, county board member from Eau Galle and a member of the PR&D committee.

“I agree. We need to rely on staff to find information for us,” said Diane Morehouse, county board supervisor from Menomonie and a member of the PR&D committee.

A report generated during the non-metallic mining moratorium would be similar to the report that will be written from the study group’s efforts during the CAFO moratorium. The non-metallic mining report was generated by Cedar Corporation, noted Dan Prestebak, county conservationist.

The state did not have any regulations regarding frac sand mines at the time Dunn County enacted a moratorium, but the state does have regulations regarding CAFOs, said Gary Bjork, county board supervisor from Colfax and a member of the PR&D committee.

Much of the work will involve sorting out who has what authority, Prestebak said.

Transportation

Bjork, who also serves as a supervisor on the Colfax Town Board, said he believed that transportation impacts from large truck traffic generated by CAFOs should be part of the study group’s work as well.

Big trucks are not paying taxes to use town roads, Bjork said.

The study group also must consider the scale of CAFOs in the county and do an inventory or a general profile of livestock operations in Dunn County, said Tom Quinn, county board supervisor from Downing and chair of the PR&D committee.

“We need to determine how effectively is the state meeting its obligations (for enforcing regulations) and how is the state funding the meeting of its obligations,” he said.

The study group’s report should lead to action, said Paul Miller, county manager.

“We should make the report mean something by doing something,” he said.

If it turns out that Dunn County has no authority to regulate CAFOs, then the action could include making recommendations to the state, Miller said.

An implementation scheme should be part of the study group’s work, he said.

Colson said he would bring proposals for facilitators to the next PR&D meeting.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the PR&D committee is November 22, although committee members indicated the next meeting could take place on November 29.