AB 867

The bill increases the annual fee for concentrated animal feeding operations

from $345 to $650. Under the bill, once every five years a CAFO must pay a fee of

$3,270 instead of the $650 fee.

In addition, the bill requires DNR to establish a plan to expand nutrient

management planning and cost-sharing availability to meet the goal of having all

farmers and all manure landspreading operations be covered by a nutrient

management plan by 2030. The bill also allows DNR to require groundwater

monitoring at any manure landspreading location in sensitive areas of the state if

a public health risk exists.

The bill also requires DNR, as necessary, to establish rules and update existing

rules relating to well construction and pump installation to provide enhanced

requirements to protect groundwater in sensitive geologic formations.

Under the bill, DNR, the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer

Protection, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation

Service, the University of Wisconsin-Extension, and the University of

Wisconsin-Madison Department of Soil Science must collaborate to update the

SnapPlus program, to take into account nutrient loss. The UW-Extension must also

update its nutrient application guidelines to take into account nutrient loss.

Finally, the bill creates several sum sufficient appropriations to ensure rapid

response time for the State Laboratory of Hygiene to perform testing relating to

water contamination; for DNR and the Department of Health Services to perform

emergency testing of public and private water supplies near areas of known

contamination from perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS); for DNR to

assist municipalities and the public in addressing local sites that are contaminated

with PFAS; and for DHS to make recommendations to DNR on groundwater

standards.