Issue Over New Orland CAFO Ordinance
A new ordinance in Orland, Indiana restricts CAFO’s within 10 miles from the town’s jurisdiction. The first issue is whether this will apply across the county line over in LaGrange County where plans are underway to build a 3,360 head dairy CAFO:
The town’s attorney, Kevin Bruns, told council members he’s concerned they don’t have the ability to enforce a town ordinance across county lines. If approved, the Toll Tail Dairy will be only about two miles from Orland, but it will be built in LaGrange County. Orland is in Steuben County.
“It was not that they should or should not pass an ordinance, but they need to be aware that I have questions of being able to enforce it,” he said.
Bruns said while he didn’t know of any towns or cities in the state that have passed similar ordinances against confined feeding operations, LaGrange County had considered a similar ordinance about 10 years ago but never adopted it.
Bob Hedges, a member of the citizen action group who created the ordinance, lives less than two miles from the proposed dairy site. He said the group believes the regulations would stand in court. Hedges lives on Wall Lake and is president of the Wall Lake Association, which represents about 90 year-round and 75 seasonal residents at the lake.
Link (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette).
