Marathon County committee hears broad public comment on proposed winter manure-spreading restrictions

Jake Loggin Hahn, chair of the Marathon County Environmental Resources Committee, opened a March meeting segment by moving agenda item 6(a)(3) — continued discussion of potential amendments to the county animal-waste ordinance — up in the order of business and made clear the session was for information and committee discussion only, not a final decision. “This is not an item that will be up for decision making today. This is purely educational and up for committee discussion,” he said.

Why it matters: committee members, staff, conservation partners and a dozen members of the public addressed the proposal because county staff and outside stakeholders say winter manure spreading can mobilize phosphorus and contribute to harmful algal blooms in waterways such as the Big O’Plains reservoir. Farmers and farm organizations warned about the cost and practical impacts of a countywide winter ban, while conservation and watershed stakeholders urged stronger controls, monitoring and buffers.

Public comment and farmer concerns

Dozens of people signed up to speak. Dean Beck, Towne Easton chairman, said forcing smaller dairies to build storage would increase spring hauling and damage local roads and could push some small operations out of business. “I do not want to have our small dairies go out of business,” Beck said.

Lionel Wisniewski, chairman of the Town of Reid Park, said his town held a meeting with its five largest dairy operations and came away favoring stronger control measures combined with cooperative permitting and verification of acreage and spreading quantities. “We came away with solid cooperation from all the…