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SF 183

A bill for an act relating to water quality standards, including by providing for the regulation of animal feeding operations, providing penalties, and making penalties applicable.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Liz Bennett and 7 co-sponsors

SF 183 expands EPC power to impose stricter NPDES permits on CAFOs/AFOs, requires effluent monitoring and public reporting, and enforces penalties to protect water quality.

Subcommittee: Evans, Pike, and Staed.
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Bill Summary · SF 183

Summary of SF 183 (Water Quality Standards and AFO Regulation)

Overview

SF 183 is a bill focused on strengthening water quality protections by aligning state regulation of animal feeding operations (AFOs) with federal standards, expanding the power of the Environmental Protection Commission (EPC) to adopt stricter permitting requirements under the NPDES program, and establishing monitoring, reporting, and penalties related to AFOs and water quality.

  • Introduced: February 3, 2025
  • Status: Subcommittee: Evans, Pike, and Staed (as of the latest action)
  • Primary Sponsors: Staed, Bennett, Bisignano, Dotzler, Winckler, Celsi, Quirmbach, Donahue

Key Provisions

  • CAFO Waste Management and Compliance

    • Manure from a CAFO must not be discharged in a way that pollutes surface or groundwater (Code section 459.311).
    • A CAFO must retain all manure between disposal periods (i.e., between land application events).
    • An open feedlot must install structures that filter manure and effluent runoff (Code section 459A.401).
    • For wastewater treatment and the discharge of manure/effluent from an AFO, EPC rules may not be more stringent than federal law (existing federal constraints preserved).

  • Redefined Terminology and Regulatory Scope

    • Rewrites the definition of an AFO to align with federal law; the term “medium concentrated AFO” is changed to “medium AFO” without altering meaning.
    • The bill eliminates a provision that previously prevented EPC wastewater/manure rules from exceeding federal standards.
    • Statutes regulating AFOs are treated as minimum requirements; the EPC may adopt additional permitting requirements by rule under the NPDES program, including for medium and large CAFOs as classified under federal law.
    • EPC rules may exceed federal standards for medium or large CAFOs.

  • Monitoring, Reporting, and Data Transparency

    • Owners/operators of medium or large CAFOs must conduct effluent monitoring of pollutants discharged to navigable waters via groundwater pathways.
    • Collected data must be reported to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which must publish it on its website and submit an annual report to the EPA.

  • Civil Penalties and Enforcement

    • Compliance with statutory regulations includes compliance with DNR-adopted rules (Code section 459.103).
    • Violations of water quality regulations can trigger civil penalties: administrative up to $10,000 or judicial up to $5,000, under applicable Code sections (455B.109, 455B.191, 459.603).

Affected Parties and Impacts

  • Affected Entities: Owners/operators of medium and large CAFOs and AFOs, feedlot operators, and groundwater/surface water users.
  • State Agencies: Environmental Protection Commission (EPC), Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and collaboration with the EPA for reporting.
  • General Public: Potentially cleaner surface and groundwater, greater transparency via public data reporting.

Timeline and Process

  • Introduced: Feb 3, 2025
  • Subcommittee action occurred on Feb 4, 2025
  • Referred to Natural Resources and Environment upon introduction

Bottom Line

SF 183 seeks to tighten state water quality protections by expanding EPC authority to set and enforce AFO-related permitting rules under the NPDES program, require monitoring and public reporting of effluent data, and impose civil penalties for violations—while ensuring consistency with federal law.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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