“There are pros and cons to everything, but you have to allow some businesses to come in and get people back to work,” said real estate agent Cindy Murray, 42. The lifelong Richmond resident hates to see the trees go and commented that people don’t like change. “We may not always like it, but we’ll get through it.”

The suit contends the plan commission’s approval of establishing a planned unit development on land zoned greenbelt was unlawful and asks the court to reverse it. The suit also says the Hayes board should have sought a straight commercial zoning for the project to build a shopping center on the Hayes acreage.

“The suit cites a number of errors over the last few years made by the plan commission,” said Richmond attorney David Burton, local counsel for the three property owners — Joyce Thornburg, Richard Pugh and Lorraine Levin.

All three live on Woodside Drive east of the arboretum. Their attorney is Bernard J. Pylitt of Indianapolis.

Fred Walker, a Blackford County commissioner, said commissioners planned to discuss the letter at their meeting on Monday.

 

“It upsets me that his letter gives us until Sept. 30 to respond and they leaked it to the press before we could respond,” Walker said. “We believe he (Miller) has been misinformed about what’s going on up here, and it’s inappropriate to conclude that we have not supported CAFOs.”

Several days after Miller sent the letter, it was reported in The Star Press that a corporation had filed for an air pollution control permit to build a $150 million ethanol plant in Blackford County.

Indiana Agriculture Director Andy Miller today reached out to local leaders in Blackford County in an effort to better understand what role large confined feeding operations (CFO/CAFO) can play in the county’s long term economic development plan. In recent months, the Indiana State Department of Agriculture has received multiple requests to aid in the siting of CFO/CAFOs in Blackford County. These requests come as a result of the county’s recent zoning decisions and public pressure and misconceptions against CFO/CAFOs.   

“ISDA is a chief advocate for expanding livestock production in Indiana, including the goal of doubling pork production,” said Miller. “We are not trying to trump the decisions of local governmental bodies or the wishes of the citizens in Blackford County.  However, we want to be helpful to the farmers that are asking for ISDA’s assistance, and we want to present facts to the community so informed decisions can be made.” 

 To help ISDA provide guidance to large farm operators wishing to expand or build CFO/CAFOs in Indiana, Miller requested feedback from local leaders in Blackford. “We have many, many counties that are clamoring for new agricultural operations, like ethanol facilities or livestock operations,” said Miller. “This letter is to help determine if Blackford County shares that same desire. If Blackford County does not want these types of farms and agribusinesses in their county, we will encourage these farmers and businessmen to consider other counties throughout the state.”  

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She still thinks Litz and his company violated interstate laws meant to ensure children placed for adoption across state lines end up in safe homes. She also reiterated her claim that the Internet site for Litz’s company promotes insurance fraud by encouraging surrogate mothers to bill their insurers for pre- and postnatal care and infant deliveries.

U.S. Attorney Susan Brooks has asked the FBI to look into Litz and his company in response to Moores’ request last month. The FBI has been following up to determine whether a full-blown probe is warranted, said agent Wendy Osborne, spokeswoman for the Indianapolis office. Litz has disputed Moores’ characterization, in her letter to the federal prosecutor, of surrogacy as a form of felony “child selling.”

The public comments elicited a request from Litz  that the judge step out of the welfare case, and she has complied: Judge quits child welfare case.

The Star article also reports that Judge Payne (now DCS Director Payne),  has taken a personal interest in the case: “I can’t acknowledge there’s a case I’m involved in,” Payne said. “But if I became involved in a case, it is because it has importance to the agency.”

Understanding the situation from the outside is complicated by the privacy laws restricting release of information both in child welfare cases and adoption cases, but I think the situation, with the allegations of the judge and the FBI investigation, highlights the dangers of doing legal work in the surrogacy field. It is one of the areas of the law where legitimate activities are fenced on either side with felonies, and sometimes the lines get awful grey.

Given the governor’s goal of doubling pork production in Indiana and the influx of Dutch dairy farms in this region of the state in recent years, you might think Delaware County government officials would have adopted a CAFO ordinance by now.

While Wayne County was considering changes to its regulations of CAFOs, Natural Pork Production II, Harlan, Iowa, applied for, and was granted, a special exception for a CAFO to contain 11,200 sows on the Wayne County/Randolph County line, on Centerville Road. The CAFO will produce about 4,800 baby pigs a week.

A committee proposal to amend Randolph County’s regulation of CAFOs was rejected by the planning commission.

The county’s existing ordinance regulates dust, particulate matter and odor coming from any land use, including CAFOs, “but how am I to know if an odor endangers the public health, safety, and welfare or causes injury to property?” asks Cathy Flatter, planning and zoning director.

In Jay County, CAFOs are required to obtain a variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals only if they do not comply with zoning requirements, including setbacks.

The minimum distance that a concentrated animal feeding operation must set back from a residential neighbor in East Central Indiana:

County Setback distance (in feet)

• Blackford 750

• Delaware 200

• Henry 2,000

• Jay 500 or 1,300

• Madison 1,320

• Randolph 300

• Wayne 1,320 (proposed)

Because of the possibility of an ethanol plant being sited in Delaware, Randolph or another nearby county, The Star Press sent reporter Seth Slabaugh and photographer Kyle Evens to Illinois on Aug. 29 to find out what it’s like to live near such a factory.

This is not on topic for this blog, but as others have taken time out to at least acknowledge the situation down in the gulf, I want to pass along this story which has links to the Indiana legal community.

Bill Quigley is the brother of Fran Quigley, the director of the ICLU. Bill is a law professor at Loyola University, and has represented death row inmates and pursued litigation against the state of Louisiana to improve living conditions on death row.

He is stranded in a major hospital in New Orleans, and has not been heard from since yesterday when he sent out the message: “No water, sick, send help.”

I am amazed at how quickly the situation in NO has spiraled out of the ability of our national infrastructure’s ability to respond, despite the fact that the full crisis has taken days to develop.

Below is a TV interview captured with Bill from earlier this week that lays out the stark circumstances those who are stranded in the failing hospital find themselves.
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The majority of the 15 people who attended the hearing were worried about the environmental effects of a CAFO could have on the watershed, air quality and more.

Some, such as Kelly Dungan, were interested in making the CAFO ordinance requirements stricter. Dungan is watershed project coordinator for the Wayne County Soil and Water Conservation District. One of her recommendations was to designate areas near watersheds as “sensitive areas” according to the ordinance.

Barbara Sha Cox, a Wayne County resident who also has farms in Randolph County, suggested minimum CAFO setbacks be increased. She also wants Indiana to have a financial assurance package, meaning it has money to clean up a site if a CAFO leaves or goes out of business.

Commissioners have 90 days since the plan commission met on July 21 to approve, deny or ignore its recommendation. If they don’t approve it within 90 days, it becomes law. If they reject it, the ordinance returns to the plan commission.

Commissioners didn’t need to hold the public hearing Wednesday.

“The commissioners are going well beyond what the law requires,” Wayne County Attorney Ron Cross said.