In 2004, Wisconsin enacted the Livestock Facility Siting Law (2003 Act 235) designed to reform local regulation affecting livestock facilities. While the new law retains local authority to control rural land use through planning and zoning, it mandates that local governments follow state standards and procedures if they require individual approval for new and expanding livestock facilities. The new law is intended to ensure a more predictable and fairer system of local regulation. Central to Act 235 are science-based standards that local governments must apply whenever they make decisions to approve or deny applications for livestock facilities. These state siting standards will be developed through rule making, in accordance with specific requirements set forth in the legislation. As proposed by the technical expert panel, the standards will protect air and water quality, while providing the livestock industry a predictable regulatory framework within which to grow and modernize. Before the siting standards become law in late 2005, they will be subject to review by policy makers, interest groups and the public.