Livestock Siting Application

 What Does the Livestock Siting Law Cover?
  • The process and standards that livestock operators (with dairy cattle, beef, swine, poultry, sheep, and goats) must follow in order to obtain a Conditional Use Permit for their operation.
 Who Needs to Obtain a Jefferson County Conditional Use Permit?
  • All new livestock operations.
  • All livestock operations that plan to expand to 150 or more animal units, including those that plan to exceed a previous Conditional Use Permit.
 
All operations that will be obtaining a State WPDES permit for over 1,000 animal units.
Who are the Jefferson County Contacts?
  • Jefferson County Zoning and Planning Department - can provide you with all necessary paperwork, information on the public hearing, and information on the timeline
  • Jefferson County Land and Water Conservation Department - can provide you with information on the necessary paperwork and standards, and can provide you with base maps
 
 What are the Paperwork Requirements?
  • The Livestock Siting paperwork includes an application and 5 worksheets.  The review fee for this paperwork is $750 payable to Land and Water Conservation Department.
    • The application entails basic farm information, maps, and management plans.  An Employee Training Plan and an Environmental Incident Response Plan are required.
    • The 5 worksheets are as follows:  Animal Units, Odor Management, Waste and Nutrient Management, Waste Storage Facilities, and Runoff Management.  Besides asking for information needed to determine if your facility will be approved or denied, the worksheets identify all the standards that the livestock operation must follow.
  • The Conditional Use Permit application is required for the public hearing.  The fee for this requirement is $250 payable to the Jefferson County Zoning and Planning Department.  The deadline for getting on the agenda of a monthly public hearing (3rd Thursday of each month) is the 2nd Friday of the previous month.
 Will You Need Professional Assistance to Complete the Paperwork?
  • Yes, to prepare a complete application, you will need the following help:
    • A registered professional engineer or certified agricultural engineering practitioner to evaluate your waste storage facilities and runoff management.
    • A qualified nutrient management planner, if your proposed facility is required to complete the nutrient management plan checklist.
  • The Land and Water Conservation Department can provide you with some base maps upon your request. 
What is the Process and Timeline for Obtaining a Livestock Siting Permit?
Livestock Operator submits Livestock Siting application, worksheets, and fee to Land and Water Conservation Department within 45 days of receiving paperwork, the Zoning and Planning Committee will notify the applicant whether the application/worksheets are complete.
If Complete:

Committee notifies adjacent landowners within 14 days of completeness determination.

Livestock Operator submits Conditional Use Permit application & fee to the Zoning and Planning Department.

Public Hearing (3rd Thursday of most months) is ideally held after completeness determination.

Zoning and Planning Committee grants or denies the application within 90 days after giving notice to the applicant that the application is complete.

Once the application is complete, the Zoning and Planning Committee must approve the application unless it has other clear and convincing information that shows that the information in the application is incorrect.

If Not Complete:

Applicant is told which items are missing.  Once items are provided, the committee will notify applicant whether the application/worksheets are complete within 14 days after missing items are provided.


Contact Information:

Jefferson County Zoning & Planning Department
311 S Center Ave, Rm 201, Jefferson, WI  53549 ~ (920) 674-7130

Jefferson County Land & Water Conservation Department
311 S Center Ave, Rm 113, Jefferson, WI  53549 ~ (920) 674-7110