Animal site bill revival sought

Livestock industry urges caution in pollution fight

By JASON CLAYWORTH
REGISTER STAFF WRITER

July 2, 2007

An Iowa environmental group has launched a massive door-to-door campaign to pressure state leaders to resurrect legislation that would increase the distances between new livestock facilities and the state's waterways, homes and tourism areas.

Advocates say such a law is needed to protect Iowa families from harmful water contamination and foul odors.

Opponents say the measure would essentially prohibit growth in the livestock industry and hurt ethanol producers, who frequently sell corn byproducts to those who raise livestock. Together, those effects would create a chilling effect upon the state's economy, they said.

"I think if we do anything to really hinder or hamper the livestock industry in the state, we're going to fall by the wayside regarding the ethanol and other biorenewables," said Rep. Dwayne Alons, a Republican from Hull who is a member of the House Environmental Protection Committee.

The group collecting the signatures, Environment Iowa, has already received the support of thousands of residents of the Des Moines metro and other urban areas. Their goals are to meet with Gov. Chet Culver this summer and to build a citizen-led movement to demand the change.

"Civic engagement starts at the door," said Kathleen Cogan, assistant canvassing director for the group.

Culver is listening to the group, but he is also listening to opponents and will meet with both before next year's legislative session, said Brad Anderson, a spokesman for the governor. In addition, legislators have set up a Livestock Odors Study Committee that will probably make recommendations next year for research related to livestock production facilities.

The legislation proposed this year would have mandated that any new or expanded livestock operation with fewer than 500 animal units - the equivalent of about 1,250 hogs - be at least a quarter-mile away from protected locations; the distance would have increased for larger livestock operations.

The proposal jumped through several hoops during this year's legislative session but was never debated on the House or Senate floors. Rep. Mark Kuhn, a sponsor of the bill, blamed its failure on pressure from such groups as the Iowa Farm Bureau and the Iowa Pork Producers Association.

Kuhn, a Democrat from Charles City, vows to again push for the legislation next year.

"It's an issue we need to resolve.... The balance is still tipped in favor of the confinement operators, and I believe we need to balance that and give more rights to the neighbors and people who live nearby," Kuhn said.

Most livestock producers already follow strict laws that, for example, prohibit manure runoff from going into Iowa waterways, said Bruce Berven, executive vice president of the Iowa Cattlemen's Association.

"We as an association are all for being good stewards, good neighbors. We understand the need to protect the environment and so forth, but we don't think this legislation achieves those goals," Berven said.

Des Moines resident Mary Ennis signed her name in support of Environment Iowa's efforts. She and her family once left an Iowa campground in the middle of the night because of smells they believed came from a confinement operation. She said all Iowa residents, urban and rural, should have an interest in the law, regardless of where they live.

"Hey, occasionally we get out of the metro area," Ennis said.

Collins farmer Dave Struthers and his family have nearly 9,000 hogs on their farm. He is afraid the legislation would run him and other farmers out of business.

"We don't want to pollute the water or air any worse than anybody else does, because our families are out there in it," he said.

Struthers believes livestock farmers are unfairly getting the blame for high nitrogen and phosphorus levels in Iowa waters. Nitrogen and phosphorus, which are used in many fertilizers and are also present in manure, also occur naturally in water, soil and air. They can become pollutants if too much gets into the water, creating a cycle that can deplete oxygen levels and kill aquatic life.

Struthers may be right, said Chuck Corell, chief of the Department of Natural Resources' water quality bureau.

Corell said it's difficult to assess how much livestock producers are to blame for high nitrogen or phosphorus levels in Iowa waters.

The probable result of such legislation, he said, is fewer serious violations such as those found two years ago in Carroll County. Last year, eight farmers in the county were fined or ordered to clean up contaminants that had killed fish; the damage was caused mainly by manure running into nearby streams.

"We may see fewer of these catastrophic events, but in general across the state, I don't think we would see any major increase in the water quality," Corell said.

Reporter Jason Clayworth can be reached at (515) 699-7058 or jclayworth@dmreg.com