Hancock County adopts resolution to evaluate confinement feeding operation construction permits

The Hancock County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted Resolution No. 2024-002 on Jan. 2, 2024, a construction evaluation resolution under Iowa Code section 459.304(3). The resolution commits the county to evaluate every construction permit application for proposed confinement feeding operation structures received by the board between Feb. 1, 2024, and Jan. 31, 2025.

Under the adopted resolution the Board will use the master matrix established in Iowa Code section 459.305 to evaluate each application; the resolution notes the county’s recommendation to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources may rely on the matrix score or on other stated reasons. The resolution also preserves the county’s right to submit an adopted recommendation to the DNR and to contest a DNR decision regarding a specific application when the county has adopted a recommendation.

The adoption was handled as a formal resolution; the minutes record that the Board recognized the statutory procedures tied to the master matrix and the specified evaluation period. The Board did not record additional findings, conditions, or application-specific determinations in the minutes for Jan. 2.