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Marathon County delays vote on manure, nutrient‑management ordinance after state flags buffer cost‑share requirement
Summary
County staff recommended pausing a vote on a draft animal waste and cropland management ordinance after state review suggested the proposed 35‑foot stream buffers may trigger a requirement to offer cost share to every affected landowner; the committee agreed to delay until DATCP legal counsel provides options.
Marathon County officials paused final action on a draft animal waste and cropland management ordinance on Dec. 2 after state reviewers raised new questions about the ordinance's buffer provisions.
Kirsty Heidenreich, who introduced the topic to the Environmental Resources Committee, said Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) legal counsel recently told county staff they may have to offer cost share if the ordinance requires a 35‑foot buffer adjacent to streams for all parcels. “The way the buffer part of our ordinance is laid out, we actually would have to offer cost share to folks that we are asking to put those buffers in,” Heidenreich said, describing the new guidance as a surprise to the county work group.
The recommendation to pause followed months of local stakeholder work and a staff white paper intended to…
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