Holiday travels dominate for me, but check out this Post from the Indiana Law Blog covering a story in Tuesday’s Madison Courier: IDEM’s Answer Gives False Idea of County Power to Ban Hog Farms.
The Pal-Item has a strange local political story up today about the Franklin County Board of Commissioners. We all know the drill, primaries in May, general election in November, the victor takes office in January.
Not so in Franklin County says 1 defeated commissioner: Thanks to a 44 year old correction of a then(?) 75 year old error, commissioners have the option(?) of taking the 1st year after they are elected to sit in on the commission meetings as an observer, and now has the right to “holdover” in office until the end of 2007:
Franklin County’s election board created the holdover commissioner office in 1962 at the direction of the State Election Board, Franklin County Clerk Marlene Flaspohler said. The change was to correct a 75-year-old error in commissioner terms. At that time, commissioners served three-year terms and each year one commissioner was supposed to begin a new term. Franklin County had two commissioners beginning a term at the same time until the holdover office was created. The law changed at some point after 1962, extending commissioner terms to four years. Vonder Meulen thinks the law changed in 1980, but Union County Auditor Virginia Bostick said meeting minutes show Union County commissioners had four-year terms at least as early as 1969.
Link.The holdover, Lou Linkel, and the victor in November, Don Vonder Muelen are both reportedly considering legal action. It sounds like a pretty bizarre situation to me, but I’ll leave further commentary to someone more experienced in the oddities of local politics in Indiana like Doug Masson or Marcia Oddi.
Seth Slabaugh has quite a lengthy piece up at the Star Press about the effort of several women to combat the influx of CAFO’s into rural Indiana. He basically profiles Barbara Cox, but Julie Alexander, Dianne Richardson and Cathy Goins all get coverage, as does Wendy Carpenter, Janet Confer, Liz Thomas, and Nellie Seal:
In rural East Central Indiana, women are organizing their neighbors to battle the influx of swine and dairy herds whose owners are from places such as The Netherlands and North Carolina, where there are moratoriums on pork and milk expansion. Strategies include trying to get local ordinances and state laws enacted.Organizers of local CAFO opponents are typically grandmothers and/or mothers who own farms that have been in their families for decades.
Link.
Following the recent release of new health regulations in St. Joseph County to control CAFO’s, the South Bend Tribune says “good Job:”
There surely will be people who don’t think the draft ordinance is the last word on the issue. By design, it isn’t. The study committee wisely limited the ordinance’s scope so that it addresses only human health issues. It intentionally does not take up quality of life issues that don’t directly affect human health — keeping in mind, of course, that many health issues are quality of life issues.
Those who are worried about property values, smells, traffic, treatment of animals and noise might think that the health department draft only touches on the scope of potential CAFO impact. One strength of the proposal is that it would establish an advisory board to meet periodically and recommend law changes and additions.
More coverage here from Cindy Ward writing in the Kankakee Valley Post News on the Jasper County BZA hearing conducted Monday night. The result: 5 hours of evidence, argument, deliberation, but no decision on the requested special exemption to convert the chicken CAFO to cattle. The take away line: “Cows don’t pay taxes.”
Yesterday, the president of the Indiana Farm Bureau was quoted as saying that CAFO’s present “no threat” to Indiana’s environment. If that is true, then I wonder what need this program is seeking to address:
Owners of confined feeding operations with immediate environmental emergencies can now turn to a USDA conservation program for financial assistance to correct the situation. The Natural Resources Conservation Service has allocated a portion of the funding from this year‘s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to deal with failures and impending failures in manure storage facilities, mass animal mortality situations.
Link. (Hoosier Ag Today - Gary Truitt).
The EQIP is also encouraging operators to develop Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans (CNMP’s).
Apparently, the Governor attended the Indiana Farm Bureau state convention over the weekend, and confirmed his vision of Indiana’s industrial agriculture future:
Both Governor Mitch Daniels and Indiana Farm Bureau President Don Villwock stressed growth in the state’s agriculture sector during remarks at the Farm Bureau State Convention over the weekend. Daniels said his administration remains committed to “No holds bared, no equivocation,” when it comes to growth in agriculture. In his annual address,Villwock stressed that farmers have a responsibility to facilitate and invest in this growth. He stressed that this is especially important in the areas of livestock expansion and a corn checkoff program.
Link (Hoosier Ag Today, Gary Truitt). This site has links to audio of the speaker.
For the Farm Bureau, the problem folks are having with CAFO’s around the state are still based on ignorance, and noted that farmers need to be “more aggressive” in their “truth telling” about factory farming. The truth: CAFO’s pose “no threat” to Indiana’s environment. That’s it, none, nothing, nada. So stop all your silly complaining.
Karen Myers has been staying on top of the Jasper County CAFO debate which caused a 5 hour meeting at the local BZA last night::
Tabling the proposal left in limbo the plan of Wolf Creek Calf Company LLC to purchase 106 acres from Schuringa Poultry Farms, located at Jasper County Road 800 North, east of Indiana 49 near Wheatfield. The company intends to retrofit the poultry facilities, which currently house more than 360,000 chickens, for the raising of 10,000 calves between one and 90 days old.
Link (Journal & Courier).
So it sounds like a draw at this point.
Cindy Ward, a staff writer for the Kankakee Valley Post News, has a nice piece upabout an upcoming hearing before the local BZA on a cattle CAFO seeking a special exception.
This operator got things a little backwards, as far as the proper process. He started a chicken CAFO without a permit from IDEM for 30 years. When this was raised as an issue he went in May of 2006 and IDEM gave him a permit for his existing operation (345,000 birds). Now he wants to convert the chicken CAFO into a cattle CAFO. As for the neighbors in the subdivision down the road? Well the operator’s attorney said the developers knew about the CAFO when they built (even though it had no permit?) and a local ordinance limits a neighbor’s ability to complain about a change of use if you move to within 2 miles of land zoned agricultural:
Indiana has often been referred to by the nation as the bible belt, or tornado alley, but more recently, on-line blogs are referring to Indiana as the CAFO spine. Depending on where you are in the equation you may or may not think CAFO, Confined Animal Feeding Operation, is a bad term
The “police powers” of the state give the state the authority to pass laws that promote the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the state. States then “pass” that authority down to local towns, cities and counties through “enabling acts” that permit these local government to pass ordinances within certain limits, that promote these interests.
This is where counties get their zoning authority. Most approaches to regulating CAFO’s occur in the zoning code. Another way to approach the issue is from the health code, and this appears to be the direction that St. Joseph County’s new CAFO regulations take. Last night, the County Board of Health unanimously approved the new ordinances:
The ordinance would also set up performance standards for CAFOs to prevent pollution, and would establish an appointed agricultural advisory board to review the measure and recommend changes as needed, Nelson said.
Link (South Bend Tribune).
One key difference here is that a change in the zoning code has no impact on existing operations, but a change in the health code, can restrict ongoing operations. So (at least according to the story) the setback limits would not effect ongoing operations, but the performance standards would.
The Oolman Dairy is to get a second hearing on its application for a special exception to install a dairy CAFO in Blackford County, according to a not-for-publication decision from the Court of Appeals. In Elizabeth Thomas v. Oolman Dairy (pdf) the court held that the board acted arbitrarily, capriciously and contrary to law in refusing to hold a hearing on the dairy’s second application for a special exception.
Not much interest for most folks, unless administrative procedural law is the kind of thing that gets you happy. But the decision probably has practical impact for those for and against the dairy. (I’m not certain as a lot could have happened since December of 2005).
Earlier this year I took note of the petition drive commenced by local biker Mark Stosberg seeking to have the “NO BIKES” signs removed from the center of Richmond, Indiana.
Well, the signs are gone that the Pal-Item is giving Mark credit:
After leading a campaign to make downtown more appealing to bike riders, signs throughout the downtown area expressly prohibiting bicycling, dogs, skates and skateboarding were removed on Wednesday morning.
“As someone who lives and works here, I saw signs saying ‘No’ to everything,” Stosberg said. “I think because the signs are gone, it makes downtown more of a friendly place.”
Congratulations to Mark. WHile reading over the story, be sure to check the comments which contain a clarification from Mark on what was actually done: The rules did not change on bike, the signs that wrongly stated “no bikes” were removed. He also notes that the issue with respect to skate boards downtown is not resolved.
Mark’s efforts on this led him to develop a method to search the Richmond City code of ordinances, something that is not presently featured on the City’s own site. Mark’s earlier local efforts helped lead to the City’s creation of a skate park. See Skatepark.org
for more information on that effort.
No, actually, what it seems to say is that our big time meat eating - industrial meat producing lifestyle is putting the hurt on the planet. Specifically, the report’s headline grabbing claim is that the manure industry contributes more to global warming than automobiles:
When emissions from land use and land use change are included, the livestock sector accounts for 9 percent of CO2 deriving from human-related activities, but produces a much larger share of even more harmful greenhouse gases. It generates 65 percent of human-related nitrous oxide, which has 296 times the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of CO2. Most of this comes from manure.
And it accounts for respectively 37 percent of all human-induced methane (23 times as warming as CO2), which is largely produced by the digestive system of ruminants, and 64 percent of ammonia, which contributes significantly to acid rain.
Link (The Pig Site). The report notes that livestock is growing at a greater pace than any other agricultural sector on a global level.
The risks are of CAFO’s are not fully understood and merit further study, CAFO density in a given watershed should be constrained, and local governmental bodies should have a role in controlling CAFO growth. These are some of the conclusions of a panel of scientist released last month in the Environmental Health Perspectives: Reports Detail Environmental Health Challenges Associated With Intensive Livestock.
The Ag Observatory reports on the group’s findings as follows:
“Although sufficient research exists to support action to protect rural residents from the negative community health impacts of (confinements), additional research could be conducted to further delineate mechanisms of effects and impacts on susceptible subgroups,” said one of six reports from work groups. The scientists, assembled in Iowa City in March 2004 and now reporting peer-reviewed results, were financed by the U.S. government’s National Institutes of Health.
Link. The Pork industry was quick to respond:
Eldon McAfee, lawyer for the Iowa Pork Producers Association, said there is no scientific backing for the working group claim of clear health effects from confinement emissions. There also isn’t, in the association’s opinion, scientific backing for a moratorium. McAfee said his group opposes local control because it would be an unnecessary disruption to a keystone industry, and considers existing laws good protection against pollution.
Well, now that Chris Hardie is only releasing his informative and well-produced local news podcasts on rare occasions, I am savoring each new episode, and would encourage you to do the same.
Yesterday’s #12 is worth the trip. Chris is the only local source keeping honesty as a valued component of discussions about local economic development. This week he questions the Pal-Item’s pie-eyed approach to local development plans.
He also features local computer guru Paul Retherford as his featured blogger.
Yesterday, I headed over to the First Lutheran Church here in Richmond for the second annual Alternative Gift Fair, put on by Cope Environmental Center and many others (Including the Richmond Friends School, for complete list, check Pal-Item story: Alternative gift fair hopes to boost non-profits).
That place was hopping, so hopefully it went well. The basic premise is givers “buy” items for the non-profits and the recipients of these “gifts’ get a card saying that the giver has given to the non-profit in their name. Not exactly a classic Christmas moment, but maybe if you could put in on the seat of the new Lexus in the driveway. All joking aside, I see that more and more folks are moving to this type of gift giving as the boom in the availability of cheap consumer grade products means that most of us don’t have a lot of room in our lives for extra junk.
Anyway, while there, I ran into a bunch of interesting folks, including Mark Stosberg, a principle at Summersault web consulting. Mark has a host of interesting hobbies and features, including his commitment to the biking lifestyle. Yesterday, he was on his way to an associates’ home with a broken old bike. His friend has a welder, and has been building recumbent bikes out of old bike parts on the cheap. See more on that over at his Flickr page.
This morning I find that Mark has posted a video of one of his more amazing talents: Juggling in the Kitchen A quick YouTube video of a little kitchen juggling.
Grant County has adopted new rules for CAFO’s, but it sounds like things are not quite done. The commissioners adopted the recommended ordinance as it deals with setback, but the new “Purdue formula” is yet to be implemented (discussed here):
Tuesday, the Grant County commissioners passed 3-0 an ordinance that is much more restrictive for the operations, enacting setback distance of between a quarter-mile and two miles from homes, towns, schools and food-processing centers.
Link (Chronicle-Tribune).
The rules also cover construction and manure distribution issues. You can read the proposed ordinance here.
E. Thomas Kemp Attorney at Law
