Animal waste ordinance upgraded

Talk about it

The past two years the St. Croix County Land and Water Conservation Department with assistance from the county’s Planning Department has been working to amend the county’s Animal Waste Ordinance.

The animal waste ordinance has been in existence since 1985 and has never been updated or amended. Many of the changes in the amended ordinance are a reflection of new and updated technical practices, administrative code and state statute citations and formatting the document to other county ordinances.

The proposed amended Animal Waste Ordinance essentially focuses on what standards and requirements are needed for a “new” storage facility, and requirements for abandoning or converting old storage structures. There are some new concepts offered in the ordinance amendments and related zoning amendments that producers may wish to be aware of if they plan to construct a manure storage facility in the future.

St. Croix County Land and Water Conservation/ Planning Department and U.W. Extension invite the public to attend an informational meeting on Monday, Feb. 27, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Agricultural Service and Educational Center in Baldwin.

The purpose of the meeting is to inform the public on the proposed updates to the animal waste ordinance. An open house will be conducted from 5 to 6:30 p.m. for the public to ask any questions to staff. At 6:30 p.m. there will be a short presentation offering the highlights and major changes to the ordinance and related zoning amendments following up with questions/answers.

If you are unable to make it to the meeting, but have questions or concerns, call Bob Heise – LWCD at 715-531-1905.

Tags: rural scene, agriculture, wisconsin