i would like to contact the worth county sierra club. can you give me a link? myrna ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jane Clark" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2003 9:34 AM Subject: Worth County legal battle > This was front page of the Globe Gazette - paper in the Worth County area. > > http://www.globegazette.com/live/local/ni3.php > > Local News Story > Posted online: Tue Jul 15 00:40:29 CDT 2003 > > Advocacy groups join Worth County legal battle > > By KATHIE OBRADOVICH, Globe Des Moines Bureau > > DES MOINES - Several environmental and farmers' advocacy groups joined > the legal battle Monday over Worth County's efforts to regulate air > pollution from large-scale livestock operations. > > The Sierra Club, the Iowa Farmers Union and Worth County Concerned Citizens > said Monday that they have filed a brief with the Iowa Supreme Court in > support of the local regulations. > > "We fear the effects factory farm pollution will have on our health," said > James Berge, a member of Worth County Concerned Citizens. > > Worth County approved an ordinance in 2001 aimed at addressing public-health > concerns by regulating pollution levels inside confinement buildings and at > nearby homes. > > The Worth County Farm Bureau and others challenged the ordinance and a > district judge agreed that only the state had the authority to regulate > livestock operations. > > "Without local control, rural Iowans are left at risk - unwittingly exposed > to dangerous levels of hydrogen sulfide, ammonia gas, dust and left to drink > contaminated groundwater," said Chris Petersen of Clear Lake, vice president > of the Iowa Farmers Union. > > Worth County appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court, claiming that counties have > the right to protect citizens from public health threats. The environmental > groups filed a "friend of the court" brief Monday in support of the county's > case. > > "The Worth County ordinance shows that a local government will take matters > into its own hands to protect citizens from factory farm pollution," Sierra > Club lawyer Barclay Rogers said. > > Kendra Kimbirauskas > Sierra Club > 3839 Merle Hay Rd. Suite 280 > Des Moines, Iowa 50310 > Tel: (515) 251-3995 > Cell: (612) 702-7298 > [log in to unmask] > > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: > [log in to unmask] > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask]