The ad hoc committee studying possible changes in Grant County’s zoning code to give local policy makers control over the development of new CAFO’s is set to present its recommendations to the planning commission on September 25th. The possibilities on the table at this point include:

• Requiring proposed animal feeding operations to seek a special exception on land zoned for agriculture. A special exception would be voted on by the Board of Zoning Appeals.

• Creating a separate zoning district in Grant County for such operations. The Area Plan Commission would make a recommendation on a proposed rezoning, and the Grant County commissioners or other government body would vote based on that recommendation.

• Requiring proposed animal feeding operations to present a development plan to the Area Plan Commission. The Area Plan Commission would approve or not approve the zoning plan based on whether it adheres to standards set by the county for such operations.

Jon Bomberger, a Fort Wayne attorney specializing in zoning, said awarding a special exception or a rezoning request would come at the discretion of the government boards considering them, while development plans would have to be approved if they met the standards set by county ordinance.

"Your first decision is who’s going to make the decision once you create the ordinance you’re going to create for animal feeding operations," Bomberger said.

Link. Such a provisions are crucial to put local authority in the loop on CAFO’s, preventing the situation that has occurred in Randolph County recently, where local officials only find out that a CAFO is coming to a particular site when the operation applies for it NPDES permit with IDEM.

Local control is not favored by state policy makers as it provides another hurtle for new CAFO’s to clear, inhibiting growth. Plus it provides an opportunity for concerned local residents to have greater influence in the approval process. Local control is becoming the rallying cry of CAFO opponents, having found state level review of these operations lacking.

From the Nuvo article, referenced in the previous post:

Factory farms house hundreds of thousands of pigs, chickens or cows, producing vast amounts of waste and often generating the waste equivalent of a small city. Pollution from factory farms seriously threatens humans, fish and ecosystems. Below are facts and statistics that illustrate the dirty and deadly truth about factory farms.

• In 1996, the U.S. cattle, pork and poultry industries produced 1.4 billion tons of animal waste, or 130 times more than produced by the entire human population — about 5 tons of waste for every man, woman and child in America.

• According to the National Institute of Health, at least 24 people in the Midwest have died from inhaling hydrogen sulfide and methane from manure in recent years, including a dairy farmer in Michigan and four members of his family, who collapsed one by one after breathing methane gas from a manure pit.

• Manure from dairy cows is thought to have contributed to the disastrous Cryptosporidium contamination of Milwaukee’s drinking water in 1993, which killed more than 100 people, made 400,000 sick and resulted in $37 million in lost wages and productivity.

• In 1954, American farmers used about half a million pounds of antibiotics a year in raising food animals. Today, about half of the 50 million pounds of antibiotics produced in the U.S. each year is used for animals, 80 percent of which is poured directly into feed to make animals grow faster. Among the most commonly used antibiotics are penicillin and tetracycline. Doctors are now reporting that, due to their uncontrolled use on factory farms, these formerly life-saving drugs are often rendered useless in combating human disease.

• In 1995, an 8-acre hog-waste lagoon in North Carolina burst, spilling 25 million gallons of manure into the New River. The spill killed about 10 million fish and closed 364,000 acres of coastal wetlands to shell fishing.

• From 1995 to 1998, 1,000 spills or pollution incidents occurred at livestock feedlots in 10 states and 200 manure-related fish kills resulted in the death of 13 million fish.

• Runoff of chicken and hog waste from factory farms in Maryland and North Carolina is believed to have contributed to outbreaks of Pfiesteria piscicida, killing millions of fish and causing skin irritation, short-term memory loss and other cognitive problems in local residents.

• Nutrients in animal waste cause algal blooms, which use up oxygen in the water, contributing to a “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico where there’s not enough oxygen to support aquatic life. The dead zone fluctuates in size each year, extending over 5,800 square miles during the summer of 2004 and stretching over 7,700 square miles during the summer of 1999.

Thanks to Marcia Oddi at the Indiana Law Blog, I was put on to a couple of links to good reading this week on Indiana’s move to become the new hog farm Mecca. First, Laura McPhee from Nuvo has a cover piece out this week on Mitch Daniels’s Possibilites Unbound: The Plan for 2025 (pdf) to double Indiana’s pork production over the course of 20 years, primarily through CAFO’s:

Daniels and the supporters of his goal to increase hog production in Indiana claim that the new trend will be of great economic benefit to the state. According to Brian Bergan, an “agribusiness development specialist” in Indiana, “Corporate farms, though often the scrutiny of some, provide a significant boost to economies through jobs, use of local vendors and property tax contributions. [Industrial farms] offer a safe, clean and humane environment for animals to prosper and grow.

“A snapshot of a farm that produces 18,000 pigs would employ about seven people with a payroll of $125,000, have $2 million invested in buildings and will pay over $23,000 in property taxes,” Bergan claims. “When last I checked I didn’t see those pigs using tax dollars for schools, libraries, sewers and safety services that we all enjoy.”

Sarcasm aside, promises of economic prosperity like those made by Daniels and Bergan are often not all they are cracked up to be. According to USDA statistics, every corporate factory farm replaces 10 family farmers; every 12,000 hogs produced at these corporate units costs 18 jobs; and corporate farms create just one job for every three created by independent hog producers. Even when jobs are created, they are seldom jobs that can sustain factory farm employees.

I got to Ms. McPhee’s piece through the second item of interest, a post over at Advance Indiana. The attorney who posts there relates his own experience with pig farms, having grown up on one, and the impact that changes in the hog industry had on his family. He has an interesting perspective on the issue, although I was really interested by the fact that he says he is Tom Easterly’s (IDEM Director) neighbor:

My point in recounting this is to help explain why I think Gov. Daniels’ push to expand hog production in Indiana is a very short-sighted aim. Unless the government is willing to subject these mega-hog farms to the requirement of treating their waste in the same manner we require municipalities to handle their human waste, we are inviting major ecological disaster. If anyone doubts that, please visit vast areas of North Carolina which have been ruined by too many hog production facilities. Many waterways are simply unfit for human or animal/plant habitation.

The Muncie Star Press reports today that Ball State University has approved a charter for the state’s first virtual public school. The approval came after the legislature made changes in the state charter law to permit charter school to conduct distance learning. However, critics of the move say the legislature never intended to authorize a completely online based school.

The article raises an interesting point: Such a school would not have a limited enrollment region, it could draw on thousands of pupils around the state. At $6,000 a head from the state, and very little in the way of facilities cost (at least compared with brick and mortar school) this school is going to have a lot of cash to play with. The public school teachers’ unions are not happy: "If five or ten thousand students eventually enroll in these cyberschools, then at $6,000 a child, the state could be looking at a $50 to 60 million problem in the future."

Online charter schools criticized (Indy Star)

The EPA issues a press release Tuesday (here), providing an update on its ongoing project to enlist the voluntary participation of CAFO operators in an air quality study program, aimed at determining if and to what extent air emissions from CAFO need to be regulated under the Clean Air Act:

[The] EPA began to realize in the late 1990’s that it didn’t have sufficient air emissions data to determine potential regulatory requirements for AFOs under the Clean Air Act (CAA), so to resolve the situation it began discussions with AFOs owners in 2001.

These discussions led to a Jan. 31, 2005 EPA Federal Register notice offering individual AFOs an opportunity to voluntarily sign– by Aug. 12, 2005– a consent agreement committing them to conduct a nationwide study to monitor and get a better handle on the nature of their air emissions. This consent agreement also resolves certain air violations under the Clean Air Act, as well as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) – also known as Superfund – and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).

EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) just approved the two final voluntary agreements, making a total of 2,568, representing 1,856 swine, 468 dairy, 204 egg-laying, and 40 broiler chicken (meat-bird) operations. These 2,568 agreements represent 6,267 farms (an AFO can include more than one farm). Now the industry-led monitoring survey can proceed; it is expected to begin this winter.

The carrot for CAFO operators to enter the program is the EPA’s agreement to abstain from bringing enforcement actions against enrolled operators during the study period (see the Agreement(PDF) read the Fact Sheet). Once the study is complete, the EPA will take up to 18 months to issue methods for evaluating CAFO emissions under the Act.

Meanwhile, Indiana is moving forward with its plan to provide protection for CAFO operators from nuisance lawsuits from neighbors, once they start operations. Producers can now enroll in a pilot program for the Certified Livestock Producer Program (they are looking for 2 to 3 producers for each species). Participation in the program is voluntary, but if the producer enrolls, and meets certain conditions, the are entitled to recoup their attorney fees if they successfully defend themselves from a nuisance lawsuit. Indiana Pork has a link to a PowerPoint presentation on the program.

According to the Chronicl-Tribune, the committee appointed to consider changes to Grant County zoning ordinances to provide coverage of CAFO’s heard from a geologist Tuesday night:

Dennis Prezbindowski, principle geologist with Indianapolis-based 4D Consulting, made his presentation to a nine-member group of local residents, government officials and businesspeople appointed by the Grant County Area Plan Commission.

Link.

The primary concerns expressed dealt with the existence of numerous petroleum wells in the area proposed for a dairy CAFO near Van Buren. That plus the presence of sandy soils at the site led the geologist to predict that there would be a high risk of ground water contamination from manure lagoon discharges

State officials have asked the engineer working on Friesian Meadows to do more geologic work in the area as part of a federal permitting process because of the possibility of abandoned oil wells. Officials with the developer have said they are taking steps to make sure all abandoned wells are properly sealed.

But Randy Thurman, a Van Buren Township resident and a member of the Area Plan-appointed committee said it would be difficult to protect the area because it was drilled so heavily.

"You’re putting (your water supply) at risk by putting the big lagoons in," Thurman said.

Doubling Indiana’s pork production will be a key topic at the sixth annual Midwest Pork conference on Aug. 31 at the Sheraton Indianapolis Hotel and Suites. Indiana Department of Agriculture Director Andy Miller will discuss the administration’s plan to increase pork production during the afternoon program. Sessions will include topics on herd management and health, marketing and legal and regulatory issues. Link.

"A public hearing on Oolman Dairy’s second application for a request of a special exception has been scheduled for 7 p.m. today at the Hartford City Middle School gym, 800 W. Van Cleve St. The hearing was ordered by special judge Marianne Vorhees, who was appointed to the task after Blackford Circuit Court Judge Bruce Bade stepped down from the case." Link.

From the Pal-Item today, 2 letters to the editor regarding the challenges presented by the influx of CAFO’s into the region. The first from local water quality advocate, Barbara Sha Cox: Growing concern voiced over impact of CAFOs:

Meet with your county boards to enact CAFO restrictions, protecting the health, environment, economy and quality of life in your community. Together, we can encourage our local and state leaders to act in the best interest of all Indiana citizens. We hope you will join the many other concerned citizens around the state, in this grass-roots effort to protect our state. If you have questions or need assistance, please contact Barbara Sha Cox, P.O. Box 1572, Richmond, IN 47375, barbarasha1@msn.com.

And another from Randolph County resident, Mary E. Davis, who wonders why these operations are being chased out of North Carolina, but welcomed with open arms in Indiana: Hog factories seek to locate in state, but why is that?

I read that two more area CAFOs are coming to Henry County. Also several people, at least 250, were protesting this. How many does it take to let the people that are supposed to be looking out for our best interest know we don’t want all this stink and pollution?

The paper’s agricultural section has a note about an upcoming session in Winchester:

North Carolina residents Don Webb and Rick Dove will share their perspectives on the impact of the corporate hog industry there. Webb is a family farmer, former industrial hog producer and president of the Alliance for a Responsible Swine Industry. Dove is a retired Marine Corps colonel, and a commercial fisherman. 

Link. It is set for this Thursday at 7:30 p.m.at the National Guard Armory in Winchester.

Outside of Indiana, some items of interest include a piece in the Toledo Blade: Ohio, Michigan Megafarms Spur Clashes Over Air, Water Pollution. The article includes a bit of a profile on the efforts of Stephen Vander Hoff, the man behind the Vreba-Haff Development Authority, aimed at providing relocation services to Dutch dairy farmers:

Many choose the tri-state region of Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana because of its affordable land, access to water, favorable climate, and simpler regulations. Farmers have been moving here from the Netherlands for a few years, in part because environmental laws in the European Union have become so stiff, according to information from the Ohio State University Extension.

The piece also has coverage of lawsuits in a couple of Ohio counties seeking to seal manure management plans of dairies. The claim is the dairies want to protect property owners who accept manure from the dairies from harassment by local CAFO opponents. The opponents fear not knowing where the manure is going, and report harassment themselves:

Sue Torrey of Wood County Citizens Opposed to Factory Farms, one of several area watchdog groups that have sprung up, said her group doesn’t condone harassment. But the group "can’t control every kook in the county" irked by megafarms.She and that group’s president, Jane Phillips, claim to have been harassed themselves. Both said they have received threatening letters accusing them of being troublemakers, with the anonymous senders hoping they "starve to death."

Finally, there is reference to a catastrophe in Ontario:

She [Lynn Henning] was referring to an event in May, 2000, in which seven people died and nearly half of Walkerton’s population of 5,000 got sick. A probe revealed water contaminated by cattle manure had been errantly washed down into the town’s public water well. The episode has been described as one of Canada’s worst public-health disasters.

Catching up on my reading, I want to note that the recently departed editor of the Pal-Item, Rich Jackson, is speaking out about his termination from the position. Doug Masson pointed me to an article in Editor and Publisher, a newspaper industry rag. Having been tuned out for the past week, I also missed Chris Hardie’s coverage of the article on his Richmond News Review site at the beginning of the month.

Mr. Jackson speculates that his firing on July 17th related to his MySpace personal page on which he posted "humor writing." The page is gone now (or at least private), but I caught it when it was up. Jackson’s claim is that his content was tame, but when I viewed it that was not my take. At the time (June 1st) I wrote to a friend:

But I guess I’m a little turned off by that kind of thing. When I think about the Editor of the Paper, even a small town paper like the PI, I don’t want to think about some middle-aged balding guy "dry humping" his couch. It sort of takes away too much of the veneer of professionalism for my tastes.

I can’t help but think he is aware that most folks online could track him down, and it is only a matter of time before someone on the forum outs his myspace blog for a personal attack. Maybe that’s is what he is waiting for, sort of a cry for help.

His comment about single moms and handing candy out to kids would probably cost him his job, if someone made an issue out of it.

Strange indeed.

Also interesting in Mr. Jackson’s self post-mortem is his claim that his firing may have had to do with the Pal-Item’s controversial coverage of the EDC fiasco. Jackson feels that the paper’s focus angered powerful local business interests and that they may have pressured the publisher to oust him. No proof is offered, so Mr. Jackson’s parting gift to the community is a nice dose of fuel for the local conspiracy theory mill:

"I think the combination of that and someone disliking the content on my Myspace.com profile caused enough fear," he said.

One of those who complained about the coverage, Jackson contends, is Renee Oldham, executive director of Main Street Richmond, a local non-profit group that promotes business. Jackson said she approached the publisher and hinted that she would try to have him removed.

"That is absolutely ludicrous," Oldham told E&P. She declined to comment on the paper’s coverage of the EDC.

Jackson said he has not taken any action against the paper or made any moves to try to get this job back. "I hope to just move on," he said.

CAFO updates are plentiful. When I left the state everything seemed peaceful, but I guess my luck did not hold out:

First. Blackford County. The BZA will meet on Tuesday at 7:00 pm at the Hartford City Middle School gym to consider Oolman’s Dairy’s second try at obtaining an exception to install a large dairy operation in the county. If you can get free, get up there and show your support.

Second. As the Pal-Item noted a couple of weeks ago, (article) the Henry County planning commission approved a pair of hog farms in a session that extended from Thursday night until early Friday morning, and was attended by more than 250 people:

After five hours of comment, the Henry County Planning Commission voted 6-2 to endorse the two farms, which were proposed by Gerry Yanos of Symons Creek Swine and Tim and Matt Chapman.

More than 250 people, many of them residents, turned out for the Thursday night meeting to express their fears that the farms would harm air and water quality, property values, quality of life and damage area roads as trucks delivered and picked up swine.

The farm Yanos proposed is supposed to be located just northwest of Dublin, Ind., and some residents there are concerned the operation could harm the town’s water supply.

Lloyd Davis, Dublin’s superintendent of utilities, said the town pulls water from the aquifer very near the proposed farm.

"I guess it’s close enough that we might get some of the smell," Davis said. "The town’s main concern, though, is our water."

Third. Kpaul notes that Madison County held a meeting Tuesday about the new proposed CAFO regulations. Kpaul has good coverage of some of the public comments here.

Is there more? Yes of course, like 4 Maxwell Foods hog CAFO’s being approved by IDEM in Randolph County, but my pile of paperwork demands attention. . . . .