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Wisconsin changes to livestock siting rules on hold, likely back soon

The chair of the Wisconsin Ag Board says proposed changes to the state’s livestock siting rule will take a while longer.  Miranda Leis tells Brownfield why the ATCP 51 rule proposal did not move forward. “We did not take action on it today, and we had a good discussion at the board about what potential options there might be. You know, at this point, there’s also a lot of uncertainty within the department, a change in leadership, a very unsettling time in a lot of ways, so to try to push it forward in an imprudent way I don’t believe would be in the best interest of the state nor of the department.”

The proposed changes included new setback requirements from roads and property lines, and changes to the odor scoring system.  Changes to ATCP 51 would have to go through the board, the Governor’s office, and the Legislature to take effect, and with the original 36-month scope statement expiring February 4^th, Leis says the issue will likely get a re-start. “At some point, an undetermined timeline, but I would expect that there would be another scope statement coming at some point.”

Before adjourning the meeting, DATCP Board members suggested putting a new scope statement for livestock siting on next month’s agenda, which would restart the process.