Supervisors urged to take leadership role in changing legislation
The board room at the Greene County courthouse was again the setting for a debate about confined animal feeding operations Monday morning as public hearings were held on CAFOs for two Greene County farmers. In recent months, expansions or new sites done by local persons drew little attention. That wasn’t the case Monday.
The first hearing was on an expansion planned by Mitch and Jill Stream of an existing CAFO in Highland Township, Section 28. The project scored 450 on the master matrix.
John McCormick, president of the Greene County Farm Bureau and a CAFO operator, shared statistics from the 2012 ag census showing that 8.2 percent of all jobs in the county are related to livestock production and the market value of livestock sales was $99.4 million.
Chris Henning, who farms in Franklin Township, spoke of water quality issues arising from the proliferation of CAFOs. “As we put up more and more of these, I worry about the water table, about the quality of people’s wells, and the people who live downstream. We’re flushing nitrates and bacteria through our amply-tiled fields into the Raccoon River,” Henning said. “I want to know what we’re sending downstream.”
She said nitrate levels at the one sensor in the county – at the bridge south of Jefferson – are “really high, and we’re not paying any attention.” County board chair John Muir said the Department of Natural Resources is paying attention. “If we’re not paying attention, the DNR isn’t either,” Henning answered.
According to Mitch Stream, nitrate levels are always higher in wet weather, and manure application is more regulated than commercial fertilizer.
When Henning asked about bacteria sensors, county sanitarian and zoning official Chuck Wenthold, who is the county’s “point man” on CAFOs, told her, “That’s a DNR thing.” Henning answered, “No, it’s us. We need to know.”
Supervisor Guy Richardson said issues of water quality and CAFOs need to be addressed by the legislature, as he frequently says.
With the exception of the Felix Finisher site on Aug. 8, the supervisors have generally voted to recommend approval of the construction permit to the DNR if the master matrix meets the minimum 440 points. “The matrix should be honored but tweaked,” Muir said Monday.
The board voted unanimously to recommend approval of the permit.
The second public hearing was for a new site planned by Lynn Hardin and his son Travis Hardin in Bristol Township, Section 23. The plan scored 480 on the master matrix.
Jane Alexander, who farms ground in Bristol Township, provided a map of the township on which she had marked every CAFO. There are currently 16 buildings in the township, not including the two proposed as Felix Finisher and the two proposed by the Hardins. She said she had calculated by looking at the plat book and figuring distances, there could be as many as 55 more buildings in the township before all available ground was in manure management plans. “I want you to remember to think about individual gain vs. community gain, and to remember you have a comprehensive plan,” Alexander said. “Ask what you want for this county.”
As Richardson has so often said, legislation needs to be changed. Alexander urged the supervisors to take a leadership role in that effort. “Talk with other counties and devise a plan to change the laws. Take a leadership role in this, unless you don’t care,” Alexander said.
Wenthold said citizens need to take the lead in lobbying, not county boards. “No, we all need to be talking with the legislature,” Henning said.
Muir reported that from discussion at a meeting about CAFOS he attended last week in Fort Dodge, the DNR is also frustrated that its concerns aren’t heard by the legislature. Muir said the master matrix has not been looked at in 14 years.
Alexander drives past the Hardins’ exisiting CAFO on County Road P-14 at the former site of Cedar Lane Estates, she said. She seldom smells an odor, and said it is well-maintained and looks neat and well-kept. “I imagine their new site will be the same. They’re not poor stewards. But you should consider all the repercussions for the county every time you get a CAFO application,” she said.
Muir was ready to close the public hearing before three of the 23 residents of Farlin spoke. The Hardins’ site is one-quarter mile from the southeast corner of the unincorporated town.
Pete Loew noted the master matrix scores for CAFOs this year. “I’m glad you’re not the board of education,” he said. “You’re approving failures, or D-minuses at best.”
Master matrix scores have ranged from 450 to 475 this year out of a total 880 points possible. “You should set your own minimum and fail all that don’t meet it. It’s political optics. What does this look like?” he said.
“You say you can’t do anything, but look at the casino. One of you (Richardson) was very involved in getting that casino built. If you set your mind to do something, you can do it. And if there’s really nothing you can do, get off the board,” Loew said.
According to Muir, if the supervisors were to set their own standard their participation in master matrix scoring would end, giving them no role and eliminating public hearings. “We have a commitment to our constituents, but we also have a commitment we made when we agreed to use the master matrix,” Muir said.
Muir said that the master matrix accounts for the needs of nearby residents by including minimum distances to residences. Loew’s answer was to remind the supervisors that 8 percent of the points on the matrix come from not being within 3,000 feet of a hospital or school.
Farlin resident Barb Cairns was tearful as she spoke. She said she worries that because of nearby CAFOs her home will have no value when she eventually sells it. She has a 30-foot well and no plans to dig a new one. She is allergic to hogs, she said, and she already smells a lot of hog odor from existing Youngblood CAFOs. “It’s not about the neighbors. It’s about more pigs,” she said.
The supervisors voted unanimously to recommend to the DNR approval of the construction permit, but Muir asked that the information sent to the DNR note the concerns raised at the public hearing.
As of Aug. 4, there were 88 CAFOs in Greene County.
