Wisconsin DNR looks to expand manure restrictions
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Tony Evers’ administration is taking the first steps toward creating restrictions on manure and fertilizer in areas prone to nitrate contamination.
The Department of Natural Resources says the move could cost farmers as much as $5 million annually at a time when the industry is already struggling with low milk prices and President Donald Trump’s trade wars.
The DNR last year imposed manure restrictions in 15 northeastern Wisconsin counties in response to drinking water contamination in Kewaunee County. The department now has developed an outline for an administrative rule imposing similar restrictions in “sensitive areas” with permeable soils. The outline doesn’t list the areas, saying they’ll be defined in the formal rule language.
Those could take months to draft.