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A former animal feeding operation near Surrey that had been told it was operating out of compliance with Ward County zoning rules faces a $10,000 fine.
The Ward County Commission voted Thursday, Nov. 5, to assess the fine to JERA Land and Cattle GP, the lead entity in the operation that included several parties. One of the associated companies, Smith Family Land Co., also was assessed a separate $10,000 fine for two unpermitted residential foundations.
The amount of the fines is based on the length of time the violations continued. Beth Pietsch, Ward County Planning and Zoning administrator, told commissioners the feeding operation fine amounted to $13,300 and the unpermitted foundations accrued to about $19,000, but the county's maximum fine is $10,000.
A fine of $100 a day started on the feeding operation April 21 and ended Sept. 21 when the owner's application for a permit was denied and cattle were reported to have been removed, which resolved the noncompliance.
Commissioner Miranda Schuler moved to waive the fine because the operation eventually came into compliance. State's Attorney Roza Larson noted the commission set a precedent in previously waiving a fine on a zoning violation at Rice Lake after compliance was achieved. The situations differ, but she advised the commission to lay out logical reasons if deciding to impose the assessment in this case.
The commission voted 1-4 to defeat Schuler's motion and then voted 4-1 to impose the $10,000 fine.
The unpermitted residential foundations never came into compliance, Pietsch said, and the commission voted 5-0 to impose the fine. Both fines are payable within 14 days or they will be added to the property tax bill.
Nathan Smith, operator of the feedlot and owner of the property with the residential foundations, called the vague commission agenda notice about zoning fines a deliberate attempt to disguise the topic and keep him from appearing to object. It demonstrates the commission is not willing to follow its own rules, he said.
"All they are doing is using heavy-handed enforcement to put somebody out of business," he said. "This place spends all their time trying to ruin our lives on baseless allegations and using laws against people unjustly, and this was another example.
"The truth is going to be exposed - the reasons behind the heavy-handed tactics that have been used against my family. It's going to come to light," he added.
As for the zoning issues, Smith said the residential foundations originally were intended for houses for family members. That no longer is the case, but the foundations remain because they are suitable for farm buildings, which do not require a permit.
Regarding the feedlot, Smith said the permanent, confined part of the operation fell below the 1,000 head requirement for a zoning permit. He also operated a separate wintering operation, for which state law has no cap on animal numbers, he said.
Ward County has charged nine entities connected to the feeding operation with 479 infractions for improper disposal of carcasses related to dead cattle found on the property in April.
Smith sued the county for unconstitutional taking without due process of law under the North Dakota State Constitution and the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Among its arguments, the complaint states the county did not properly involve the state veterinarian or Board of Animal Health nor extend the opportunity to the operator to remove the carcasses, all of which would have avoided the costs assessed.
Smith said no state experts in animal disposal were consulted when the county made the decision that his disposal practices were out of compliance.
"We had been burning, burying, composting. We were never given an opportunity, through lack of due process, to even bring in an expert and actually determine if we were doing it wrong," he said.
The case remains open in North Central District Court, which has ordered alternative dispute resolution.