State Legislators Speak on CAFO’s
With 1/3 of the 503,783 pigs permitted in Indiana this year in Randolph, Jay and Wayne counties, local state legislators Bill Davis and Tom Saunders are getting an earful from concerned residents:
Much of the growth can be found in House districts 33 and 54, the territory of state reps. Bill Davis and Tom Saunders, respectively. Friday, they joined forces to say they’ve asked IDEM to dedicate more people to this area. Both said that if the agency’s administration doesn’t respond, they will pursue legislation on the matter next session.
Davis said, "We hear you. We understand your concerns and we’re asking IDEM to send the resources out here."
But some in the crowd, including members of Environmentally Concerned Citizens of Randolph County, dismissed the Friday morning press conference as nothing more than a campaign stunt eight weeks before election day. Both lawmakers face tough Democratic challengers in November.
A call for More Hog Farm Inspections from the Pal-Item.
right now there is but one inspector from IDEM working this region, Randy Jones. The article points out that Jay County has the most pigs in the state, while Randolph county has led the state in growth of pig operations in the state this year. The article also pointed out that both legislators received campaign support from the Indiana Farm Bureau., a prominent proponent for industrial farming.
September 28th, 2006 12:29
[...] In direct response to the the call by 2 East Central Indiana legislators for increased inspections of CAFO’s, IDEM has announced that it will add 2 routine inspections of new CAFO operations in the first year of operation. Generally, the only time IDEM would visit a CAFO in the first year of operation is when there is a spill or complaint. Gov. Daniels issued a press release: [...]