Bill would let counties, townships use odor-modeling tool for animal feeding operation siting; statewide debate unfolds in committee

Senator Paul Thomas told the House Agriculture Committee the bill he co-sponsored would give counties and townships the option to use a science-based odor-modeling tool when deciding setback distances for animal feeding operations. "This has nothing to do with the Department of Environmental Quality," Thomas said, stressing the proposal concerns local zoning authority for siting, not environmental permitting.

The bill would preserve existing statutory setback distances but authorize local political subdivisions to use an odor footprint or odor-dispersion modeling tool — developed for North Dakota by the Department of Agriculture and modeled on tools used in Nebraska and South Dakota — to set site-specific setbacks if local officials choose to do so. Supporters, including Commissioner Doug Goehring and representatives of commodity groups, told the committee the tool would incorporate facility type, mitigation measures, topography and long-term weather data to map…