Des Moines Register
07-30-06
Let's end tourism vs. livestock standoffs
REGISTER EDITORIAL BOARD
Why spend $25 million to revitalize Clear Lake, a tourist gem, yet risk ruining the
investment by letting livestock facilities locate nearby?
That's the question Iowans should ask themselves and candidates for the
Legislature and governor heading into fall elections.
A version of that dilemma, now at issue in north-central Iowa, has played out
repeatedly across Iowa when producers propose locating confinements near
tourist attractions - Elk Horn with its Danish windmill, the Great Lakes in
Dickinson County, a monastery near Dubuque.
The clashes continue because political leaders have failed to balance the
interests of agriculture with promoting recreation and other amenities.
Both are crucial to economic development, yet the farm lobby has cowed the
General Assembly.
It works like this: As long as farmers meet minimal state requirements, such as
separation distances too short to prevent odor problems, they can pretty much
locate wherever they wish. A community's only options: public outcry and paying
them off.
State lawmakers need to head off these conflicts: Give counties authority to zone
for the livestock industry, just as they zone for other industries.
Livestock-rich Sioux County might allow confinements almost everywhere.
Appanoose County, where Honey Creek State Park is under development, might
draw tighter limits. Neighbors would know what to expect. Farmers could set up
business without a fight.
In Clear Lake, the fight is between Andy Muff and much of the rest of the
community.
The Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors is asking the state to delay
construction, after receiving a petition with more than 700 signatures. The Clear
Lake City Council passed a resolution opposing construction. The Clear Lake
Chamber of Commerce joined in. So did the Association for the Preservation of
Clear Lake.
Odor is the big worry, said Randy Cram, association president: "If we get this
reputation that it's a great, clean lake but it's smelly, we are concerned ... from a
business standpoint and a quality-of-life standpoint."
"We are not out to hurt the ag industry, but we certainly don't want them to hurt
the tourism industry," said Cram, who wants the Legislature to establish a "safety
zone" around natural lakes.
Muff, 28, is described as a nice, ambitious young guy, whose family has long
farmed in the area. Legally, he is doing everything right.
Ham Farms would be 2.5 to 3 miles from the lake. He and his fiancé plan to build
their home there. "We selected that location because it exceeds all [legal
requirements], and it's a good community to live in," he said.
The facility will hold 2,490 head, just under the 2,500 threshold for a construction
permit, and will not be in the Clear Lake watershed, according to the Iowa
Department of Natural Resources. But Muff does need a manure-management
plan. At least one field where manure would be spread is in the watershed.
An air-model study by Iowa State University found odor should not impact the
lake, but it does not include days when manure would be spread, Muff said. He is
willing to remove manure-management acres in the lake's watershed if that will
help: "I do not want to harm the lake. I'm looking for the opportunity to prove to
the community that we will be an asset."
Muff, who already has state approval, is not a villain. Neither are opponents of
his plans. But if county zoning were in place, they would not be embroiled in yet
another controversy, and Iowa would be a better place to live for everyone.