(1) An applicant for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit or a construction and operating permit under the Environmental Protection Act or the Livestock Waste Management Act shall not be issued a permit until the applicant has obtained any necessary approvals from the Chief Water Officer under the Safety of Dams and Reservoirs Act. The department may require the applicant to obtain approval from the Chief Water Officer for any dam, holding pond, or lagoon structure which would not otherwise require approval under the Safety of Dams and Reservoirs Act but which in the event of a failure could result in a significant discharge into waters of the state and have a significant impact on the environment.

(2) An applicant required to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit is subject to the requirements of the Engineers and Architects Regulation Act.

(3) An applicant who has a large concentrated animal feeding operation, as defined in 40 C.F.R. 122 and 123, as such regulations existed on January 1, 2004, and who is required to obtain a construction and operating permit is subject to the requirements of the Engineers and Architects Regulation Act.

(4) An applicant who has a small or medium animal feeding operation, as defined in 40 C.F.R. 122 and 123, as such regulations existed on January 1, 2004, and who is required to obtain a construction and operating permit, but not required to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, is exempt from the Engineers and Architects Regulation Act.

(5) The department may require an engineering evaluation or assessment performed by a licensed professional engineer for a livestock waste control facility if after an inspection: (a) The department determines that the facility has (i) visible signs of structural breakage below the permanent pool, (ii) signs of discharge or proven discharge due to structural weakness, (iii) improper maintenance, or (iv) inadequate capacity; or (b) the department has reason to believe that an animal feeding operation with a livestock waste control facility has violated or threatens to violate the Environmental Protection Act, the Livestock Waste Management Act, or any rules or regulations adopted and promulgated under such acts. Animal feeding operations not required to have a permit under the Environmental Protection Act, the Livestock Waste Management Act, or the rules and regulations adopted and promulgated pursuant to such acts are exempt from the Engineers and Architects Regulation Act.

(1) Except as provided in this section, no new livestock waste control facility shall be constructed and no physical onsite activities specific to a new livestock waste control facility, except the use of a borrow site for construction of other components of the animal feeding operation, shall be initiated unless surface water runoff from the upstream area, except incidental runoff, is adequately diverted around the structure and is not permitted to enter the reservoir area. For purposes of this section, incidental runoff means the runoff that drains from the slope of the embankments, the top of the dam, the reservoir area, the feedlots, the associated roadways, and up to twenty-five acres of additional area that cannot be diverted. Incidental runoff capacity from a twenty-five-year frequency, twenty-four-hour storm shall be provided for in the waste reservoir in addition to the capacity required for the waste effluent or stored materials.

(2) The department shall permit a requested increase in the twenty-five-acre limitation for a new livestock waste control facility for an animal feeding operation for which an inspection was requested prior to January 1, 2000, unless the department determines that the detriment to existing water users that would result from permitting the acreage increase would outweigh the detriment to the operator of the animal feeding operation if the increase were not permitted.

(3) For other new livestock waste control facilities, the department may permit an increase in the twenty-five-acre limitation if it determines that (a) the applicant has no reasonable way to limit the amount of the additional runoff acreage to twenty-five acres or less at the proposed location of the livestock waste control facility, (b) the applicant has no reasonable alternative for relocating the livestock waste control facility so that the additional runoff acreage would not exceed twenty-five acres, and (c) either (i) an increase in the permitted runoff acreage would not reduce water supplies to the detriment of existing water users or (ii)(A) the requested facility is for a proposed expansion of an animal feeding operation in existence and in compliance with the Livestock Waste Management Act as of January 1, 2003, (B) the amount of the runoff acreage permitted in excess of the twenty-five-acre limitation is not more than fifteen percent of total permitted feedlot area, and (C) any detriment to existing water users that would result from permitting the acreage increase would be outweighed by the detriment to the operator of the animal feeding operation if the increase were not permitted.