Wallace's Farmer, IA
03-14-07
Legislature Will Consider Overhauling Livestock Laws
Rod Swoboda rswoboda@farmprogress.com
Last week the House Environmental Protection Committee in the Iowa
Legislature endorsed House Study Bill 267, a 25 page set of new environmental
rules for Iowa's livestock industry. The vote was 12 to 8 to keep the bill alive for
debate this session.
The bill, if it is passed by the legislature and signed by the governor, would put
more distance between new or expanding livestock facilities and homes, water
supplies and tourism areas. It would also change some of the other existing state
livestock regulations in Iowa. It abandons talk of giving counties local zoning
control over livestock operations and does not call for a moratorium on new
construction of hog buildings.
Many environmental groups and their members had been pushing for county
zoning of livestock farms, an idea Gov. Chet Culver supported during his recent
election campaign. But that idea has proven to be too politically hot for
lawmakers, who instead are looking to improve the regulations on hog
confinements and cattle feedlots in Iowa.
Bill would expand separation distances
The legislation, in addition to creating new separation distances, would for the
first time give special protection to tourism areas such as the Iowa Great Lakes
and Clear Lake by preventing construction of livestock buildings within a certain
distance of the areas. More separation distance would also be required between
farms and certain "high-quality" waterways.
The state won't automatically turn down an application from a producer who
wishes to build a new livestock operation or to expand an existing one if the
building or facility is within the minimum separation distance--if the farmer goes
through an odor assessment by Iowa State University specialists. But the
state could turn down any project if there is "a preponderance of evidence that
the construction would be detrimental" to nearby residents or a protected
location.
Representative Mark Kuhn, a Democrat from Charles City, explains the reason
this bill has been introduced. The existing voluntary state checklist system, called
the "master matrix," was passed by the legislature and became law several years
ago and was intended to make livestock farms more environmentally friendly. But
it hasn't protected air and water quality as much as hoped, says Kuhn.
Study committee would revisit "Master Matrix"
The new proposal would set up a study committee to suggest ways to change
the matrix, which counties would be required to use. Currently, 86 counties have
opted to participate in the matrix program and 13 have chosen not to participate.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources would still have the final say on
granting the permits--under this new bill.
Representative Steve Olson, a Republican from DeWitt, says he voted against
the new bill last week when the committee was considering whether or not to
advance it. He did so because "this new bill would make it more difficult to
expand Iowa's livestock economy and make it harder for father-son operations to
exist and bring young people back to the farm." Kuhn, however, says he doesn't
think the new bill would hamper livestock operations from growing or prospering.
Lobbying against the bill are the Iowa Farm Bureau, Iowa Corn Growers
Association and Iowa Pork Producers Association. The Iowa Department of
Natural Resources has registered as "undecided." Eldon McAfee, attorney for the
Iowa Pork Producers Association, says hog farmers consider existing laws
adequate to control pollution from livestock operations. Also, the new bill ignores
other sources, he contends, such as industrial plants and municipal waste
treatment facilities, which are also threats to the environment.
Proposed separation distances in new bill
House Study Bill 267 would increase the separation distances between new
livestock operations and tourism areas, an existing swine facility, a planned
residential housing development or a "qualified city." Here are the proposed
distances, based on the number of animal units in the facility:
* Fewer than 500: A quarter-mile
* 500 to 3,000: A half-mile
* Over 3,000: One mile
The proposal would prohibit new construction or expansion of a livestock
confinement within two miles (10,560 feet) of a city identified as both an "Iowa
Great Place" and as a qualified city, which means it has a current comprehensive
growth plan.