JFC Rejects Proposal to Move CAFO Authority to DATCP

State lawmakers have rejected a provision in Gov. Scott Walker`s proposed state budget to study the feasibility of having the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture take on the authority of permitting and regulating concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, rather than keeping it under the Department of Natural Resources` jurisdiction. On Thursday, the Joint Finance Committee removed the item, along with over 80 other non-fiscal policy recommendations from the governor`s 2017-19 spending plan.

The move brought praise from environmental groups like the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, which said in a statement that moving such oversight to DATCP would have made enforcing clean water rules even more difficult by passing them off to an agency `unprepared and unqualified` to function in that capacity.
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Ken Notes: Now we need a comprehensive policy to address all the issues associated with CAFOs. We are building cities of cows with policy designed for small rural development. This is the same a septic systems vs. treatment facilities for people.