Iowa wimps out on animal confinement rules, environmentalists complain


 

 <http://www.desmoinesregister.com/staff/17637/donnelle-eller/> Donnelle
Eller , [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]:49> 6:49 p.m. CDT October
18, 2016

Environmental activists are criticizing state leaders for failing to
strengthen rules overseeing livestock confinement operations to better
protect Iowa and its residents, leaving loopholes that allow producers to
<http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/2016/06/11/iowas-h
og-confinement-loopholes-causing-stink/85264592/> build small pig facilities
near each other to avoid oversight.

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement also asked the Iowa Environmental
Protection Commission, which held a meeting Tuesday in Des Moines, to
require large corporations that own animals raised by local farmers to be
"held liable" for environmental fines and penalties assessed in Iowa.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources "has the ability through
rule-making to close this loophole - but, as we've seen today, prefers to
pass the buck," said Deborah Bunka, an Iowa CCI member from Ames.

Chuck Gipp, director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, said the
agency talked with its lawyers and doesn't feel it has the power to make the
changes Iowa CCI and other groups requested Tuesday.

"The vast majority of issues that were raised are things we can't address
through rules. It has to be addressed by the Legislature," Gipp said.

Jennifer Terry, a Des Moines attorney, objected to a meeting DNR leaders had
last year with agricultural groups, including the Iowa Pork Producers and
Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, to discuss needed administrative rule changes.

Pointing to notes received through the Freedom of Information Act, Terry
said attorneys representing agriculture interests "scolded DNR" for some
proposals, saying they were deal-breakers. The attorneys also discussed ways
to challenge the rules. 

"That's not a transparent process and is not in the spirit of the
rule-making process, especially when there's such a battle now in Iowa for
clean water," said Terry, who is an environmental advocacy leader for Des
Moines Water Works.

She urged DNR and the commission, a nine-member panel that oversees the
state's environmental policy, to include water quality or environmental
groups in stakeholder discussions.

Gipp said drafts of the proposed rules were sent to environmental groups
before public hearings were held, including Iowa CCI.

One of the animal confinement proposals that received loud opposition was a
rule that enabled livestock producers with older facilities to seek
emergency application of manure to frozen or saturated ground because
they've run out of storage.

Producers were given five years to increase their facilities' storage size
to avoid winter application, which can lead to runoff, since the manure
can't get worked into the soil.

The state said it received 150 requests for emergency winter application
over five years.

Another concern was the removal of "lakes" from the definition of public use
areas, which require confinement setbacks. The rules clarified the distance
to structures at public areas, such as cabins, campgrounds and fishing
piers.

Gipp said the state added lakes to the list of protected public areas and is
providing greater protections.

The commission also rejected an appeal to deny a construction permit for a
proposed pig facility in Cerro Gordo County.

Cerro Gordo County rejected the proposal from River Edge Farms, which plans
to build a facility that would house 4,992 hogs. The facility met the
requirements of the state's master matrix, which helps assess whether a
confinement operation should be constructed.

But county leaders said the proposed facility sits close to a private
wetland that's an extension of a public wetland. And manure from the
facility will be used on fields near the Winnebago River and other critical
wildlife areas.

"Ventura and Clear Lake are within three miles . and our biggest concern is
the adverse impact it will have on the residents of our county," said Tom
Drzycimski, Cerro Gordo County's zoning officer.

 


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to [log in to unmask] Sign in to Listserv online to manage your subscribtions (http://lists.sierraclub.org/SCRIPTS/WA.EXE?LOGON). Policies may apply (http://www.sierraclub.org/lists).