Resolution in Support of a State-Wide CAFO Moratorium

SRWN has developed a boilerplate resolution in support of a state-wide CAFO moratorium that can be used at the county, township or city council levels of local government. For a print-ready PDF of the resolution, click here.  

RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF A STATEWIDE MORATORIUM ON THE CONSTRUCTION AND EXPANSION OF INDUSTRIAL-SIZED CONCENTRATED ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS IN WISCONSIN

A RESOLUTION OF THE _________________ (authority i.e.; Mayor and City Council, Town Board, etc.) of the ________________ (city/town/village), finding that imminent peril exists to the public health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of ______________, and declaring support for a state-level moratorium on the building, placement, or expansion of existing concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) within the State of Wisconsin.

WHEREAS, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) administers the Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) Program, which regulates the discharges of pollutants to surface and groundwater from concentrated animal feeding operations, industrial wastewater treatment facilities and municipal wastewater treatment plants and;

WHEREAS , the nonpartisan State of Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau reviewed the DNR’s performance implementing the WPDES Program and found in Report 16-6, dated June 2016, that the DNR failed to administer and maintain a WPDES permit program consistent with the requirements established under the Clean Water Act and Chapter 283, Wis. Stats; and

WHEREAS, 36 of 1,900 required self-monitoring annual reports submitted by concentrated animal feeding operations were electronically recorded by the DNR and 98% of the required annual reports were not electronically recorded and, therefore, not available to DNR staff responsible for monitoring compliance and enforcing regulations.; and

WHEREAS, the result of industrial agricultural contributions of fertilizer and manure runoff into surface water and groundwater shows increasing levels of phosphorous, nitrates, and bacteria in the water supply leading to degraded water quality and water quantity; and

WHEREAS, human health and welfare is impacted by the construction, operation, and expansion of CAFOs in the State of Wisconsin; and

WHEREAS, all CAFOs that are operating under expired WPDES general and/or individual permits are operating without a permit that reflects the most current laws and standards implemented at the federal and state level to protect water quality.

NOW, THEREFORE, the _________________ (authority i.e.; Mayor and City Council, Town Board, etc.) determines that an emergency exists which threatens the public health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the ________________ (city/town/village) and that the ________________ (authority i.e., Mayor and City Council, Town Board, etc. of city/town/village) supports a state-level moratorium on the building, placement, or expansion of existing concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) within the State of Wisconsin.

DATED THIS _____ (day) DAY OF _____(month), (year).

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Download or print the Resolution in Support of the CAFO Moratorium here.