The Goodhue County Board of Commissioners held its first May meeting in Kenyon on Tuesday, May 6, with students from Kenyon-Wanamingo High School government classes in attendance.
The Board’s main agenda item was considering a conditional use permit for a feedlot expansion at Bombay Dairy in Kenyon. Bombay Dairy is seeking to construct a new manure storage facility that will store up to 3 million gallons of manure. Goodhue County requires a CUP for any farm that stores over 500,000 gallons of manure.
Bombay Dairy currently has 770 mature dairy cows and 200 dairy heifers for 970 total animal units. Back in 1998 it received a CUP to exceed 500 animal units. The proposed storage facility would be concrete with dimensions of 150 feet by 250 feet. The farm’s current storage is an earthen mound. They would pump out the storage once a year in the fall (rather than the much more current trips they make currently) and then spread the manure as domestic fertilizer on land that is approved for such application.
It was noted that converting from an earthen mound structure to a concrete one, and the resulting much fewer trips to spread, have numerous benefits in terms of road, odor, etc. Other requirements under the County’s zoning are:
The manure cannot be stored for longer than a year and cannot be applied to fields at rates exceeding the local agricultural crop nutrient requirements except where allowed by permit.
The owner is responsible for the storage, transportation and disposal of the manure according to State rules.
Before the May 6 meeting, the Goodhue County Board of Adjustment approved a variant from the County’s 91% odor offset and the Planning Advisory Commission recommended approval unanimously (7-0). Ultimately, the Board approved CUP after asking a few clarifying questions.
Leon Township culvert reconstruction
The other major topic was a request from Public Works to amend the 5-Year Bridge Construction Plan to include the reconstruction of culverts on 357th Street in Leon Township. They also required the Board approve an agreement with Leon Township for the work. It was noted the County usually helps townships with projects like this.
Leon Township and Public Works are proposing to replace a low-water crossing on 357th Street which consists of two, 48-inch culverts, which according to the State of Minnesota, are not considered a bridge. However, they want to replace them with two, 72”, round, metal culverts which would be considered a bridge by the State. As a result, the township and Public Works believe they can use Town Bridge dollars to pay for the project.
The two culverts were supposed to be replaced in 2029, however recent inspections revealed structural deficiencies in the culverts which resulted in restricted travel on the roadway via narrowed lanes.
An agreement between the County and Leon Township is needed to bid the project, execute the construction and secure funding. Public Works said that they can include the bid for the project under a single contract with one or both of the other two Town Bridge projects for the year. Because of the project’s simplicity, they also said they would be able to design and finish the project this year. It would be funded with Town Bridge dollars and through Leon Township.
The Board approved the amendment and agreement with the stipulation that the road be surveyed and right-of-way issues be figured out for resident tax purposes.
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