By Terry Witt -Spotlight Senior Reporter

            It’s easy to see times are changing when Levy County Commissioners express serious concerns about the growing horse industry in Marion County potentially using private land here for stockpiling their equine manure.

            Commissioners are expected to approve a resolution Tuesday directing staff and the county attorney to work on revising and tightening zoning regulations to guard against this type of activity in the county.

            The board resolution is careful to distinguish between bonafide farm operations in Levy County that generate and re-use manure as part of their farm operations and those that operate outside county law.

            “It is recognized that the dumping, storage, disposal treatment and/or processing of barn waste/manure are currently not allowed commercial or industrial uses in any zoning district within Levy County and as such it is recognized that those uses are prohibited,” the resolution states. “It is also recognized that this prohibition of such commercial or industrial uses does not operate to limit the activity of generating and re-using manure on a bonafide farm operation on land classified as agricultural land, where such activity is done in the course of their normal farming operations as defined and regulated under state law.”

            If the resolution is adopted by the board, it directs county staff to work on the zoning uses ordinance and make recommendations to address how barn waste and commercial and industrially generated manure can be used in a manner that would allow “environmentally sound and economically viable re-use, treatment and processing of barn waste into a beneficial product.”

            At the same time, the changes to county zoning laws would safeguard against the devaluation of private property values and the creation of nuisances (odor, flies, blight) resulting from the unregulated dumping, storage, and processing of barn waste and manure.

            When the prepared draft regulations are ready for public review, staff is directed to schedule a workshop for the board to solicit and consider public input.

            “In particular, the board seeks input from industry representatives, government agencies, academics, and any other persons who have knowledge, experience, and information relevant to the beneficial re-use of barn waste/manure and how such uses may be regulated to minimize/avoid devaluation of property and creation of public nuisances,” the resolution states.

            The county commission is directing staff to forward a copy of this resolution to the appropriate person at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, the Suwannee River Water Management District, and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

            County Commissioner Matt Brooks brought the issue to the board on a couple of occasions but told the board at its Feb. 8 meeting that the time had come to act instead of just discussing the issue. Brooks suggested among other things that the board prohibit by ordinance any further land acquisition in Levy County for the purpose of dumping and stockpiling waste.

            “While we appreciate our neighbors in the equine industry taking off, we don’t want to be the dumping ground,” Brooks said.

            At the earlier meeting, Brooks also talked about establishing a committee that would engage in research and discussion of the manure dumping and stockpiling issue, but that particular suggestion is not part of the resolution scheduled for adoption by the county commission tomorrow. Instead, the resolution invites input from many different people with expertise on the subject without specifically calling for the formation of an advisory committee.

            Commission Chairman Rock Meeks asked if there was any possibility that an incinerator could be used to burn the waste of it that approach has been tried in other areas.

            “I think there have been incinerators in the industry. There are smells that come with that type of operation. You have to make sure whatever area you’re in is designated for that intended use. I doubt it would be near a residential area,” Brooks said.

            Commissioner John Meeks said there have been instances where incinerators resulted in untended consequences. He cited a biomass plant in Gainesville that was using limbs from tree trimming for fuel, but when the fuel was in short supply the operators started cutting down trees to generate enough power.

            “It defeated the purpose,” Meeks said.

            Brooks said the main goal will be to gather information, either from universities, scientists, or people who are in the industry about how to safeguard private property rights and not become a manure dumping ground for the neighboring equine industry.

            “We need to be on the proactive end of bringing that collaboration of ideas and research together and make recommendations to us and say, hey, this is how this type of operation is going to look in Levy County,” Brooks said. “Other counties have set restrictions, sheltering, and different things of that nature. We’ve never established that.”

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Board of County Commission Regular Meeting February 8, 2022; Posted February 21, 2022