DES MOINES — A group of House
Democrats is taking on one of the state’s most controversial political
issues by attempting a re-write of Iowa’s livestock regulations — a
re-write they say would help protect Iowa’s air and water.
The
bill they are offering would increase the distance new confinements
would have to be from homes, businesses, schools, churches, public use
areas and water sources.
Those same protections would now be
extended to cities, tourist destinations and planned residential
developments as well as swine farrowing operations.
Smaller-scale livestock operations also would be required to obtain a construction permit before they could be built.
Rep. Mark Kuhn, D-Charles City, said lawmakers wrote the bill with input from Iowans about livestock regulations passed in 2002.
“They
wanted to be separated farther from these confinements. They’re
concerned about losing property value of their residences,” said Kuhn,
a farmer who has been an advocate for tougher regulations.
Under
the proposal, confinements could not be built within 1 mile of a
tourist destination, or within 2 miles of some tourist destinations
that also are considered a “high quality water resource.” Those would
include Clear Lake or West Lake Okoboji, among others.
In lieu
of the separation distance, operators in some instances could comply
with a plan developed by Iowa State University to reduce the effects of
odor on neighbors.
Current law requires proposed animal
confinements of 1,000 “animal units,” which equals 2,500 hogs, to
obtain construction permits. The new proposal would cut that threshold
in half to 500 animal units, or 1,250 hogs.
The proposal stops
short of handing over control over where confinements can be located to
local governments. Kuhn said it did not have support among a majority
of House Democrats and likely wouldn’t pass the Legislature.
Rep. Steve Olson, R-DeWitt, is worried the bill would hurt family farmers with what he called “excessive mandates.”
“Producers that are in business today, this limits their ability to expand,” Olson said.
Rep. Jack Drake, R-Lewis, said it would take a lot of available land out of possible livestock production.
He believes he would be unable to put a new livestock confinement on his own 400-acre farm.
“I think it would be very detrimental long term to the livestock industry,” Drake said of the bill.
The
proposal also would require counties to participate in the “master
matrix” scoring system that larger livestock producers must undergo
before they are granted a construction permit.
Kuhn said because
some counties are not using the matrix, it creates an uneven playing
field. Under the proposal, counties also could hold public hearings.
The
bill would require the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to
re-evaluate the master matrix scoring system, which has come under fire
from environmental groups who see it as too lenient.
Rep.
Marcella Frevert, D-Emmetsburg, said lawmakers tried to incorporate
feedback they heard about the 2002 legislation when shaping the latest
proposal, which she hopes earns bipartisan support.
“There always are nay-sayers who say you’re going to drive livestock production out of this state,” Frevert said.
Nathaniel
Baer, a policy advocate and lobbyist for Environment Iowa, said the
proposal addresses some of the group’s concerns about Iowa’s livestock
laws.
The organization has pushed for increased separation distances and a lower permit threshold.
“We’re very happy with those aspects of the bill,” Baer said.
He
said major tourist destinations that would be protected under the
proposal include environmentally sensitive areas of the state,
including lakes, rivers and parks.
Measures in the bill also would attempt to reduce manure spills into major waterways that can lead to fish kills.
Some
types of manure storage units would be prohibited on karst topography
like that found in far northeast Iowa. The land there is typified by
limestone bluffs and sinkholes along with the area’s treasured
coldwater trout streams.
Charlotte Eby can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.
