Backers of a proposal to give counties the power to veto sites for
livestock operations plan to hire at least one lobbyist and pour into
the Statehouse regularly to push a years-old idea that has yet to
trigger a full legislative debate.
Some Democratic leaders have
said publicly it is unlikely counties will win control over
confinements this session. Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal this
week said it's too early to declare anything dead for a session that
hasn't started, but he earlier said the proposal's prospects are dim.
Gov.-elect
Chet Culver has continued to support what backers call "local control."
Environmentalists were encouraged by an election that left Democrats in
charge of both legislative houses and the governor's office.
"Many
people in Iowa thought, 'Once we get the Democrats in, they will be
saviors,' " said Tyler Reedy of the nonprofit Iowa Citizens for
Community Improvement, which opposes corporate hog confinements.
"Immediately after the election, there was a switch. People all over
the state are astonished. They are heartbroken."
A dozen members
of the Iowa Coalition for Local Control, which represents groups from
Fairfield to Des Moines to Okoboji, met with Des Moines Register
editors and reporters Wednesday after a visit to key lawmakers.
Coalition members vowed to keep up the fight.
"Local people have
the right to have more than a say on siting," said Chris Petersen of
the Iowa Farmers Union. "They should have veto power."
Livestock
groups say county control would disrupt Iowa's largest-in-the-nation
hog industry and open the prospect of 99 separate sets of rules.
With
confinement construction in 2006 approximately triple the record level
of the year before, people concerned about the odors, health threats
and nuisances can't afford to wait, coalition members said.
The
governor-appointed Iowa Environmental Protection Commission this week
called for county control over livestock farms. Two members, Francis
Thicke of Fairfield and Donna Buell of Spirit Lake, said the commission
wants county governments, most likely elected supervisors, to have veto
power over sites, just as they would for any factory or large
commercial operation.
The commission also called for the state
to extend the permit requirements to smaller operations. The panel also
wants the state to reconsider how far confinements, and manure
applications, must be from public areas.
David Vestal of the
Iowa State Association of Counties said county delegates last fall
supported local control. However, he said, some supervisors don't want
the power and fear the controversy and legal headaches that would go
with it.
Reporter Perry Beeman can be reached at (515) 284-8538 or pbeeman@dmreg.com
