1. The department shall adopt rules requiring construction design standards for unformed manure storage structures required to be constructed pursuant to a construction permit issued pursuant to section 459.303.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 459.308

  • Confinement feeding operation: means an animal feeding operation in which animals are confined to areas which are totally roofed. See Iowa Code 459.102
  • Department: means the department of natural resources created pursuant to section 455A. See Iowa Code 459.102
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Karst terrain: means land having karst formations that exhibit surface and subterranean features of a type produced by the dissolution of limestone, dolomite, or other soluble rock and characterized by closed depressions, sinkholes, or caves. See Iowa Code 459.102
  • Manure: means animal excreta or other commonly associated wastes of animals, including but not limited to bedding, litter, or feed losses. See Iowa Code 459.102
  • Manure storage structure: means a formed manure storage structure or an unformed manure storage structure. See Iowa Code 459.102
  • Person: means an individual, partnership, firm, corporation, or association. See Iowa Code 462A.2
  • property: includes personal and real property. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • seal: shall include an impression upon the paper alone, or upon wax, a wafer affixed to the paper, or an official stamp of a notarial officer as provided in chapter 9B. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Unformed manure storage structure: means a covered or uncovered impoundment used to store manure, other than a formed manure storage structure, which includes an anaerobic lagoon, aerobic structure, or earthen manure storage basin. See Iowa Code 459.102
  • year: means twelve consecutive months. See Iowa Code 4.1
 2. The construction design standards for unformed manure storage structures established by the department shall account for special design characteristics of confinement feeding operations, including all of the following:

 a. The lining of the structure shall be constructed with materials deemed suitable by the department in order to minimize seepage loss through the lining’s seal.
 b. The structure shall be constructed with materials deemed suitable by the department in order to control erosion on the structure’s berm, side slopes, and base.
 c. The structure shall be constructed to minimize seepage into near-surface water sources.
 d. The top of the floor of the structure’s liner must be above the groundwater table as determined by the department. If the groundwater table is less than two feet below the top of the liner’s floor, the structure shall be installed with a synthetic liner. If the department allows an unformed manure storage structure to be located at a site by permanently lowering the groundwater table, the department shall confirm that the proposed system meets standards necessary to ensure that the structure does not pollute groundwater sources. If the department allows drain tile installed to lower a groundwater table to remain where located, the department shall require that a device be installed to allow monitoring of the water in the drain tile line. The department shall also require the installation of a device to allow shutoff of the drain tile lines, if the drain tile lines do not have a surface outlet accessible on the property where the structure is located.
 3. A person shall not construct an unformed manure storage structure on karst terrain or on an area that drains into a known sinkhole. However, a person may construct an unformed manure storage structure, if there is a twenty-five-foot vertical separation distance between the bottom of the unformed manure storage structure and underlying limestone, dolomite, or other soluble rock.
 4. a. The department shall conduct a routine inspection of each unformed manure storage structure at least once each year. A routine inspection conducted pursuant to this subsection shall be limited to a visual inspection of the site where the unformed manure storage structure is located. The department shall inspect the site at a reasonable time after providing at least twenty-four hours’ notice to the person owning or managing the confinement feeding operation. The visual inspection shall include, but not be limited to, determining whether any of the following exists:

 (1) An adequate freeboard level.
 (2) The seepage of manure from the unformed manure storage structure.
 (3) Erosion.
 (4) Inadequate vegetation cover.
 (5) The presence of an opening allowing manure to drain from the unformed manure storage structure.
 b. Nothing in this subsection restricts the department from conducting an inspection of a confinement feeding operation which is not routine.
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