Grant County Residents Crowd Commissioners Meeting: Think Twice About CAFO
Tuesday’s Grant County Commissioners meeting was swamped by residents concerned about the 2,200 head dairy operation headed or Van Buren. While representatives for the dairy sought to reassure the commissioners that everything was being done properly, commissioners questioned why they had not heard from the dairy promoters before the filing of the permit request with IDEM.
As the area where the dairy is going in is zoned for CAFO’s, the dairy does not legally need to seek any approval from the county until they get the permit from IDEM, and need to get a building permit. There is little the plan office can do but grant a proper application for a building permit, so the commissioners passed a resolution asking the area plan commission review local policy on CAFO’s, specifically, to consider requiring CAFO seek a special exception from the board of zoning appeals.
The commissioners also requested that the plan office refrain from issuing building permits for CAFO’s until the review of local policy is complete.
Read all about it: Link (Grant County Chronicle- Tribune).
May 15th, 2006 13:13
[...] The Grant County Chronicle-Tribune has an editorial up today following last week’s dust up at the Grant County commissioners’ meeting, leading to a recommendation from the commissioners that the plan commission study the CAFO issue before moving forward. The editorial tries to strike the middle ground between pro & anti-CAFO advocates, and support’s the commissioner’s recommendation: Some state and local governments, including, most recently, North Carolina, have enacted moratoriums on CAFOs. North Carolina’s moratorium is on swine operations and, according to news reports, is because of CAFOs’ adverse environmental effects in the state. That’s not likely to happen in Indiana, but we still do not have to rush into things, and local governments deserve support from state agencies, such as the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, in working through these decisions. Because of the magnitude of the operations, county governments are more than likely unprepared for the planning, zoning, siting and enforcement issues, so they must rely on IDEM’s resources and expertise to protect citizens’ interests. Grant County officials are doing the right thing by moving with deliberate speed, and IDEM should offer its advice and support during the process. The state obviously has an interest in promoting the growth of agriculture, but it also has an interest in protecting the state’s environment. Link. [...]