"These laws wouldn't penalize farms that have a good record," Washtenaw County Farm Bureau Chairman Jerry Huehl said. "The biggest problems we are seeing involve farmers who are coming over here from other areas and starting up these concentrated animal feeding operations."

Huehl said farms considered concentrated animal feeding operations include those with at least 700 mature dairy cows, 1,000 head of beef cattle or approximately 2,500 hogs.

"If these bills pass in the Senate and their counterparts pass in the House, anyone who is in violation will be penalized," he said.

According to the proposed legislation, concentrated animal feeding operations that are convicted of violating state water quality laws would be subject to increased regulatory oversight and would not be re-issued their existing operating permit nor issued a new permit to operate concentrated animal feeding operations at another site unless it met certain criteria.

Source: Milan News-Leader