Morton County OKs expansion of cattle feeding operation 4–1, sets NDDEQ and road-use conditions
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Summary
The Morton County Commission approved a special use permit Oct. 9 to expand a cattle feeding operation from 2,000 to 5,000 animal units on roughly 320 acres, imposing ND Department of Environmental Quality permitting, road-weight limits and automatic suspension for noncompliance; Commissioner Buckley voted no.
The Morton County Commission on Oct. 9 approved a special use permit to expand a cattle feeding operation in the S½ of Section 4, Township 140 North, Range 83W from 2,000 animal units to 5,000 animal units on approximately 320 acres.
Commissioner Zachmeier moved to approve the permit; Commissioner Morrell seconded. The motion passed with four votes in favor — Zachmeier, Morrell, Tokach (virtual) and Chairman Nathan Boehm — and one vote against from Commissioner Buckley.
The permit includes several explicit conditions. The applicant must submit a copy of the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality (ND DEQ) feeding operation permit application materials to the county zoning administrator at the time the ND DEQ application is filed, and the county’s special use permit will not become active until the county receives a copy of an approved ND DEQ expanded feeding operation permit. The permit will be automatically suspended if the facility falls out of compliance with any federal, state or local regulation and will remain suspended until the facility returns to compliance.
The county also required that the applicant acknowledge the 80,000-pound weight limit on County Road 83; any overweight commercial traffic must obtain permits through LoadPass. Two residential structures within the SW¼ of Section 4-140-83 that existed when the special use permit was approved were exempted from odor-setback considerations on the basis that they house feedlot employees.
The motion and the conditions reference Article 11, Section 29 of the North Dakota Constitution as governing authority for the use decision and require coordination with ND DEQ procedural requirements. The permit’s activation is contingent on ND DEQ approval, so the county’s approval is conditional rather than an immediate operational authorization.
Next steps: the county will hold the permit in abeyance until it receives the ND DEQ approval document required by the permit conditions; the file will be monitored for compliance and subject to automatic suspension if regulatory violations occur.