« Ind. Decisions - Transfer list for week ending October 7, 2005 | Main | Ind. Law - "So, when did the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission become a welfare-assistance agency?" »
Friday, October 07, 2005
Environment - Agriculture stories today
"Changes planned for manure regulations: Commissioners want to change ordinance on confined feeding operations" is the headline to this story today in the Richmond Palladium-Item. Rebecca Helmes writes:
The Wayne County Board of Commissioners would like to make changes to a proposed confined feeding operation ordinance before sending it back to the Wayne County Plan Commission."Winchester CAFO up and running" is the headline to a story at Newslink Indiana. It reports:Commissioners would like to shorten a minimum setback requirement for manure application from any residence, business, public recreation area, golf course, surface water and public or surface water intake supply structure from 660 feet to 330 feet.
They recommended the change as long as the manure is injected into the ground rather than spread on top of it. Injecting manure into the ground often does not smell as bad as spreading the manure on top of the ground.
The unapproved ordinance, which would require new confined feeding operations to agree to meet particular zoning requirements to receive special exception zoning permits, does not affect the new confined animal feeding operation (CAFO) that the Wayne County Board of Zoning Appeals approved in August. It would, however, apply to all approved CFOs from now on.
The difference between a CFO and CAFO is the number of animals that are kept on the property -- a CAFO has more animals.
The new CAFO at Centerville and Randolph County Line roads is expected to have about 11,200 sows by early 2006.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management regulates the environmental issues that CFOs bring with them, while the proposed Wayne County zoning requirements regulate the placement of CFOs within the county.
Once the proposed ordinance is approved, any CFO that locates in Wayne County would have to operate according to rules from both IDEM and the county.
WINCHESTER, Ind. (NLI) - The Union Go Dairy in Winchester has been open for three weeks. Seven hundred cows are already at the Confined Animal Feeding Operation, and more arrive every day."Ag park debated at Thursday forum" is the headline to a story by Nick Werner in today's Muncie StarPress. Some quotes from the lengthy story:Tony Goldstein, manager of the Winchester CAFO, said he's happy about how things have been going. "We're really excited to get things going, and so far I think it's going great," said Goldstein.
Fourteen employees work at the farm. The facility plans to bring in grain from nearby farms to feed the cows. Once all the cows have been hauled in, there will be more than 1,600.
While Goldstein and his employees are happy, some people are not so excited.
People living close to the CAFO have been fighting against it for two years. They are concerned the waste from the cows could leak into the water supply and contaminate it. The farmers are also afraid that pollutants in the air could affect their animals.
Allen Hutchison's farm is less than a half mile from the CAFO and he said when the wind blows just right the smell is almost unbearable.
"Whichever way the wind's blowin', that's the neighbor that's gettin' it," Hutchison said about the smell.
MUNCIE - About 200 people attended a forum Thursday night to debate a rezoning proposal for farmland near the town of Shideler that would promote agricultural-related industry. Thes tory includes discussions of pollution and health, jobs, location, comprehensive plan, and economic development.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on October 7, 2005 04:28 PM
Posted to Environment | Indiana economic development