Sierrans & Environmental Friends: FYI on the CAFO Moratorium Issue. This is what our Sierra Club neighbors in Kansas are doing on the Hog Lot (CAFOs) issue. Lyle ---------- From: Charles M. Benjamin <[log in to unmask]> Reply-To: CAFO Campaign Leaders <[log in to unmask]> Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 18:38:16 -0600 To: <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Kansans for Clean Water The Wichita Eagle newspaper 825 E. Douglas Wichita, Kan. 67202 316.268.6000 Updated TUESDAY February 8, 2000 Citizens groups organize against hog farm operations Three separate groups -- representing churches and local governments -- are asking the Legislature for a moratorium on hog-farm permits. By Jean Hays ‹ The Wichita Eagle To Karol Schlicher, a Methodist, the issue surrounding large hog farms revolves around protecting God's Earth. To Bob Martz, a Wichita City Council member, it's about protecting Wichita's future. To Randy Scholfield, head of Kansans for Clean Water, it's about protecting the health of children. They represent three separate organizations that are forming to persuade the Kansas Legislature to take steps against hog farms to protect south central Kansas' water supply. The groups are calling for additional regulations or a moratorium on new hog farms until Kansas State University can determine if the farms pose a threat to the Equus Beds aquifer. The aquifer supplies drinking water to a half million people, including residents of Wichita. Gov. Bill Graves has said repeatedly that public concern about hog farms is overstated, last week calling the push for a moratorium "much ado about nothing." K-State has said that the state's one-size-fits-all regulations governing hog farms may not be enough to protect sensitive areas, such as the Equus Beds, that are prone to pollution. In August, the governor asked K-State to determine if large hog farms pose a threat to the Equus Beds, but the results of those studies won't be available until next year. The Kansas West Conference of the United Methodist Church, which includes 400 churches in central and western Kansas, has started a petition drive, asking legislators to enact additional safeguards for the water supply. "People of faith believe that water is sacred because God made it," said Schlicher, a leader of the petition drive. "We are asking people of faith to speak up for the natural environment." Kansans for Clean Water, which announced its formation Monday, is calling for a one-year moratorium on new hog permits in the Equus Beds, and for the Legislature to give counties the power to enact stricter regulations governing hog farms. The group, which is made up of residents, as well as churches and environmental groups, will meet with legislators today. "We are not against hog farms," he said. "We are for clean water." Scholfield was joined Monday by about two dozen people, including Wichita City Council member Martz, who said the city is simply asking for a time out until the studies are completed. "The future is what this is all about," Martz said. "The problem is not today. It's 10 to 15 years down the road." Wichita is a member of the Regional Economic Area Partnership, a group of five counties and 25 cities in south central Kansas that has made protecting the Equus Beds its highest priority. Members of that group will meet with legislators Wednesday. Sen. Pat Ranson, R-Wichita, has introduced a non-binding resolution calling for a halt to new hog permits in sensitive groundwater areas until the K-State study is completed. The resolution has been signed by 31 of 40 state senators. A similar measure is pending in the House. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jean Hays writes about the environment. Reach her at 268-6557 or [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- © The Wichita Eagle || ____________________________________________ Lyle Krewson 6403 Aurora Avenue #3 Des Moines, IA 50322-2862 [log in to unmask] 515/276-8947 515/276-3965 - Fax ____________________________________________ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For SC email list T-and-C, send: GET TERMS-AND-CONDITIONS.CURRENT to [log in to unmask]