Iowa’s Environmental Protection Commission voted 5 – 2 in support of increasing the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) authority to control the permitting of livestock confinement facilities.
The recommendation now goes before the Legislature’s Administrative Rules Committee this summer. If passed, the DNR would have greater discretion in denying confinement construction permits.
The agency’s request prompted the legislature to pass a bill in May stripping the department of the additional authority requested under the proposed rule change. Lawmakers said they want the DNR to approve permits by the rule of law, not at the discretion of the agency or its director. Governor Tom Vilsack subsequently vetoed the bill.
Source:
CattleNetwork