Iowa approves new environmental rules for feedlots
Date: 30-Apr-02
Country: USA
"By working together, we have begun to tackle the difficult issue of balancing the need for a healthy livestock industry in our state with the need for clean water, clean air and quality of life for all Iowans," Gov. Tom Vilsack said in a statement.
Iowa is the top U.S. hog producer, but concerns over odor and pollution have escalated in recent years as small family hog farms have been replaced by huge operations typically run on contract to corporations.
Concerns extend to cattle feedlots and other livestock operations as well.
The legislation signed by Vilsack will set standards for air quality and limit the amount of phosphorus, which can pollute waterways, allowed in manure applications. To cover the costs of environmental monitoring, the state will charge producers about 15 cents per head of livestock.
Another provision enables county and state leaders to use a scoring system to consider whether to approve a proposed livestock site. The scoring is based on variables such as a site's distance to public areas or water sources.
The debate over large-scale feedlots, sometimes called concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, has pitted the state's powerful farm sector against consumer and environmental groups.
Representatives of two organizations involved in the debate gave mixed reviews to the regulations signed into law yesterday.
"We believe that the bill that was signed today is more workable for farmers than some of the initial language," said Aaron Putze, a spokesman for the Iowa Farm Bureau. He said earlier versions of the legislation could have imposed a virtual moratorium on new livestock facilities.
"We would not have supported the bill if it wasn't better than what we're doing now. We're not saying it's perfect or it's a cure, but it's a new tool," said Elizabeth Horton Plasket of the Iowa Environmental Council.
Most of the provisions Vilsack signed into law will be phased in over a period of several years. Horton Plasket said her organization would have preferred to see the new rules implemented sooner.
"We're looking at a boom in CAFO construction over the next 11 months. There are facility after facility ready for construction, and it's overwhelming the counties," she said.
