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Thursday, March 29, 2007

Environment - "CAFO bill worries health officials"

Joshua Stowe of the South Bend Tribune reports today:

A state Senate bill that would void St. Joseph County's feedlot ordinance worries county health officials, health advocates and some area politicians who want the measure amended before it's passed.

Senate Bill 431, authored by Sen. Beverly Gard, R-Greenfield, would make the state responsible for regulating most aspects of confined feeding operations and concentrated animal feeding operations.

According to a synopsis of the bill, the measure would give the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and state environmental boards "sole regulatory authority for protection of human health and the environment concerning CFOs and CAFOs."

Further, the bill would mean that local governments could regulate such operations only with respect to land use and zoning.

Marc Nelson, environmental health manager for the St. Joseph County Health Department, believes that's a bad idea. Nelson oversaw the volunteer task force that helped craft the county's ordinance to regulate CAFOs in an effort to protect public health.

"I think that people of Wabash County and this county and many other counties have spoken that they want tighter controls on these CAFOs," he said, "and I think that legislators should be responsive to what people want."

For background, begin with this ILB entry from March 23rd.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 29, 2007 01:49 PM
Posted to Environment