Questions about drainage and the absence of the people who would profit from a proposed hog confinement in Bristol Township led the Greene County board of supervisors on Monday to vote against recommending that the Iowa Department of Natural Resources approve a construction permit for Felix Finisher. It is the first time in several years the supervisors have not recommended approval of a construction permit.
About 25 persons attended the public hearing, with a dozen of them speaking. After listening to more than an hour of comment and asking several questions, the supervisors voted 4-1 in favor of a motion that the permit be disapproved. Board chair John Muir cast the dissenting vote.
The proposal is for two 2,500-head buildings, each 51’ X 384’ with deep pit manure storage, located on 190th St in Section 19 of Bristol Township. They are proposed by Granite Farms IV. The property is owned by Majestic Farms of South Dakota.
The site scored 460 on the master matrix, a tool used by the Iowa DNR and Iowa counties to review plans to be sure they meet minimum requirements. A score of 440 is needed for approval of a construction permit.
Jon Tiffany was the first to speak at the hearing and his comments proved to be important in the board’s decision. Tiffany lives two miles north and one mile east of the proposed site. He drives past the site on his way to and from work in Scranton, he said.
Tiffany told the supervisors that three weeks ago the Webster County supervisors voted against permitting for a Granite Farms IV site there because there is no connection between the company and Webster County. Tiffany said he checked Granite Farms IV on the Iowa Secretary of State’s list of registered corporations. “The corporation has no officers, no stock issued and no address. It has only a registered agent…. How could a board of supervisors grant a permit to build to a company that’s so greatly disguised?” he asked.
Tiffany described the property as a prairie pothole. Spring snow melt and a rain of more than an inch or so leaves ponds on the site. He estimated between 20 and 60 acres of water standing on the site at times. The manure management plan calls for liquid manure to be spread there.
The water is drained off with Hickenbottom inlets (orange perforated vertical pipes easily seen from the road), he said. Even with the Hickenbottoms, water sometimes stands for days. “This standing water tends to leech everything out of the ground, including the manure, right to the Hickenbottom, which is a direct pipeline to the tile underground. Presumably that tile district would go to the Raccoon River, which is within about two miles,” he said.
“If the supervisors of Greene County would like to be the next county sued by the Des Moines Water Works, I think in combination with the prairie potholes and the Hickenbottoms, you’d be next on the list,” he said.
Patti Edwardson of rural Churdan has spoken against hog confinements at several public hearings, saying the state’s current system of permitting CAFOs is unfair and unjust to neighbors, boards of supervisors, and future generations of Iowans.
“We all know that the Iowa DNR has the final say, but if we don’t start saying ‘no’ now, nothing will change,” she said Monday.
She reminded the supervisors of a comprehensive plan for the county written in 2008 and available on the Greene County website. The plan notes a desire to draw more residents and more businesses to the county; a need for more economic and agricultural diversity; the ability to enjoy more outdoor recreation; and the preservation and renewal of abandoned farmsteads. “Each of these goals becomes further and further out of reach with each CAFO that comes to this county,” Edwardson said.
Letters from Jim Strautman, Chris Lohr and Adrienne Smith were read for the record. All three opposed Felix Finisher.
John Sabus spoke in favor of the project, which he says is “right in my backyard”. He operates Bristol F 683 for Iowa Select Farms as of three weeks ago. He said the feed comes from Lidderdale, not Iowa Falls, as Tiffany had said. He said hog manure when it is applied correctly is more stable than anhydrous ammonia.
Sabus said he rents farm ground from Granite Farms IV. He suggested the new CAFO be moved to G Ave, around the corner from the proposed site. “I think out of sight, out of mind if it’s off the highway. It’s still on their (Granite Farms IV) property,” Sabus said.
John McCormick also spoke in favor of the project. He said he’s proud “that Greene County feeds the world.” He talked of changes in agriculture and that building CAFOs provides young farmers opportunities. He said that CAFOs add to the tax base in the county and that feed trucks on gravel roads can reduce suspicious activity. He estimated there would be 15-20 fewer families in Churdan if it weren’t for hog CAFOs.
Darrell Hunt of New Modern Concepts, the company that provided the plans for the site, said the community would benefit from adding one or two jobs, adding $1.3 million to the tax base, and from feed purchased in Lohrville and locally purchased propane and electricity.
The supervisors have asked for trees to be planted at another CAFO the company operates and that trees be added to the Felix Finisher site. Hunt said trees would hinder the natural ventilation of the buildings.
Jen Sorenson, communications director for Iowa Select Farms, said that company would own and manage Felix Finisher. The company already manages eight CAFOs in the county, and she said the company considers itself as part of the local economy. She did not explain how Granite Farms IV and Iowa Select Farms are related.
“We’re very proud to be part of this county. We operate very responsibly. We have a tremendous track record in terms of environmental stewardship, in terms of animal care, in terms of caring for our people and our surrounding communities as well,” Sorenson said.
Bill Cloninger spoke of a negative impact on a dog boarding business he and his wife recently opened one mile east of the site, worrying that he would need to purchase water for the dogs and that he would lose business if dogs went home smelling like hogs. He said that already there are 17,000 head of swine within two miles of his home. “When is enough enough?” he asked.
Lori Mannel, a neighbor of Cloninger, asked, “Why are we looking at individual development at the risk of community development? We work very hard to develop our community…. Our livelihood relies on agriculture. Our community relies on agriculture. But where’s the skin in the game for an organization from Hardin County? Build in Hardin County, but Hardin County is saturated. They continue to profit themselves and they harm others,” she said.
Bruce Chaffee lives three-fourths of a mile from the site. He said he talked with all the neighbors and every one opposes the site. His neighbors told him he was wasting his time opposing it, but he said, “We shouldn’t roll over. Enough is enough.”
Rich Smith of Jefferson and Byron Paup of Bristol Township also spoke in opposition.
After nearly an hour of comment, board chair John Muir closed the public hearing. He said he would remain consistent with his previous votes on construction permits, recommending approval if the master matrix has the minimum 440 points. He said the letter to the DNR would include concerns about wells and water safety.
Supervisor Dawn Rudolph said she understands farming and that it has changed over the years. She noted that as rural populations decline, it opens more distances for CAFOs. “My question is, Granite Farms has a stake in this – where are they? They’re not here today. I want to support our local farmers that live in this community and are our neighbors. Granite Farms is not our neighbor,” she said.
“I know the matrix is always the thing we go by because we have to have guidelines. That’s why there’s the matrix. Yes, they did make the points. The downfall is companies like this, when they (the DNR) deny it, they can put a 2,500-head unit here and a 2,500-head unit there, and then they expand it. That’s the downfall. You have to be careful what you wish for.….. My conscience is that we have to support our local people,” Rudolph said.
Supervisor Mick Burkett said he was caught in the middle, as one of his sons operates four CAFOs, and that he can agree with both sides of the issue. He noted that the people who own the ground and farm the ground don’t live in Greene County, but said the supervisors’ hands are tied by the master matrix.
Supervisor Tom Contner said he’s “all for” local people building CAFOs, and that he has nothing against Iowa Select, “but you’ve got an out-of-state owner of the ground wanting to build a hog confinement…. I have a problem with out-of-state ownership.”
Supervisor Guy Richardson repeated what he has said several times about understanding the concerns of neighbors and the dedication of the operators in acting responsibly. “The reason we use this process… is to allow people to come here and sit face to face with producers and voice their concerns and be able to have that back and forth. We have virtually no control over whether the DNR is going to approve this site,” he said.
“After listening to everything, I have questions about whether this is great siting or not. There are questions that need to be looked at carefully….. But until the legislature changes laws and gives local boards of supervisors the responsibility and the option of making decisions on siting, our hands are tied. We don’t have a lot of say in where these things go,” he said.
He said the supervisors’ only responsibility is to determine if the 440 point threshold is met on the master matrix.
Richardson later said he didn’t have enough information to make a decision without knowing if Tiffany’s information about a pothole and drainage is correct. The DNR site visit isn’t scheduled until Aug. 19. Muir suggested to Richardson that he vote not to approve the permit if he is concerned.
The motion was that the board recommends to the DNR disapproval of the Felix Finisher permit application due to many concerns.
Two more hearings scheduled: The supervisors later in the meeting set a special meeting for Thursday, Aug. 18, to review master matrices for JEMMB Pork Site in Section 28 of Highland Township (Jill and Mitch Stream) and Hardin Site in Section 23 of Bristol Township (Travis and Lynn Hardin). Streams and Hardins are established Greene County residents and farmers.
Public hearings are scheduled for Monday, Aug. 22, at 9 am for Streams and at 9:30 for Hardins. ~by Victoria Riley, GreeneCountyNewsOnline
