TOWN OF MAIDEN ROCK — The Maiden Rock Town Board of Review swiftly approved an ordinance that binds Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) to oversight and checks regarding several aspects when they are looking to enter or expand inside town limits during a Monday meeting.

The list of topics the CAFOs will have to work with the township on in order for their approval that were not previously necessary under the current town regulations include air pollution controls, an infectious disease plan, a carcass disposal plan, a biosecurity plan, a road plan, a water use plan, an impact on property value analysis, a fire response plan and a financial bond if a factory closes. The applicant is now responsible for paying regular enforcement costs and no longer uses a self-reporting structure for manure spreading, now paying for the enforcement of that as well.

Maiden Rock town residents put together a commission of volunteers to research both the impacts of industrial farming and the township’s land and water. Once the studies were complete, the committee recommended an ordinance to the board and a public hearing for it was held Nov. 16. Of about 90 attendees at the hearing, vast support for the ordinance was shown. When the approval of the ordinance was made Monday night, a wave of applause filled the room.

“The commission studied the effects of industrial agriculture in rural areas and considered their options to protect local water, roads, and neighbors. The Operations Ordinance the commission recommended will serve as a way for the town to work with CAFOs to create plans on how they will address various impacts and risks of their operations on local resources and infrastructure. Some of these aspects are currently completely unregulated by the county or the state. The ordinance asks that plans be submitted to explain how a CAFO intends to address air pollution, water usage, manure spreading, road damage, carcass disposal, biosecurity, and fire protection. CAFOs pay the costs for the Town to use experts to review and enforce the plans,” a statement from the town after the approval states.

After the approval, Maiden Rock township residents asked a few questions. Town Chairman Jerry Duden said residents of other municipalities have expressed interest in adopting an ordinance of their own, and Rock Elm is actively studying the potential impacts. Maiden Rock was the first in Pierce County to approve this type of ordinance.

Duden said the board is responsible for reviewing future permit applications, and the public also has responsibility as a voice and an eye to alert if they see a violation in the future.

Board Supervisor John Danneker said well inspections in Maiden Rock are coming up, encouraging people to test their water for potential dangers including high nitrate levels. Some area residents have claimed high nitrate levels in their groundwater due to the overspreading of manure.

“The more people that we have that participate in the water testing, the better track record we have as to what’s going on,” Danneker said. “If you are in the town of Maiden Rock and you don’t get your water tested and you come five years from now and you say, all of the sudden, you have too much nitrates in there, you can’t blame anyone.”

Danneker urged non-residents to get their water tested through their municipality as well.

GrassRoots Organizing Western Wisconsin is an organization that has heavily advocated for the establishment of this ordinance for months. When it was approved, Field Organizer Danny Akenson touched on the importance, giving a perspective on why they pushed so hard for it to go through.

“The decision by the Maiden Rock Town Board is a result of the community banding together and sharing their stories and fears. We’ve heard it all. Landowners have had their land used for manure spreading without permission. Residents have had to call the Sheriff’s Department to escort them out of their own driveway due to heavy truck traffic on country roads. Families have had to live with poisoned water that causes sickness and cancer. It's a win for everyone who has shared their stories and I hope to see other towns follow suit with ordinances of their own. Ordinances like this will help restore rural Wisconsin to a place where our small towns are thriving again,” Akenson stated.