July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
State moratorium on CAFOs should be adopted (01/25/07)
Letters to the Editor
To the editor:
In this legislation session there will be the opportunity to place a moratorium on the building of CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations). The question is why. Here are the reasons we desperately need a moratorium in Indiana.
First, Indiana does not have a financial assurance package. Without having the package, any operator who either decides to quit or fails due to financial difficulties, can walk away and leave millions of gallons of manure for the State to clean up. Who pays for this? We the taxpayers. Many of the CAFOs are owned or contracted by large corporations from out of state. If they want to do business in Indiana, they should be willing to put up a bond for cleanup.
The second concern is for the health of the residents who are forced to live next to them.
In Indiana there is not even an air monitor for monitoring the air around CAFOs - even though the facts have been studied and the emissions contain hydrogen sulfide and ammonia.
In fact, last year five people living near a CAFO were ill and IDEM did not have a monitor for agricultural use. If you are living near a CAFO, you are on your own to protect your health.
Third, our waters in Indiana are impaired with E. coli. Certainly not all the pollution is caused by CAFOs, but until we have deeper setbacks from waterways when spreading manure we can expect to see more pollution.
Fourth, the operators who haul and spread the manure are not required to have any training or license. All septic waste haulers must be licensed, yet you can haul thousands of gallons of manure contaminated with cleaning solutions and medicines without a license? My vehicle was sprayed with manure on a state highway last summer and I know others who have had the same disgusting experience.
We need deeper setbacks from all residences. It is a sad fact that farmers have worked their whole lives to build assets in a farm and home, only to see it devalue because a CAFO moved in next door.
In Indiana, there has been a push to double the pork production. What they did not do was have the proper regulations in place before starting the program. This is why we must have a moratorium to stop, study, and regulate before allowing any more to build. North Carolina has a moratorium and some other states have good regulations.
It seems the citizens of Indiana deserve better than what we are seeing happen now. Indiana needs a moratorium on construction of new CAFOs.
A hearing on this legislation by the Energy and Environmental Committee of the Indiana Senate is scheduled for Monday.
Barbara Sha Cox
Richmond[[In-content Ad]]
In this legislation session there will be the opportunity to place a moratorium on the building of CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations). The question is why. Here are the reasons we desperately need a moratorium in Indiana.
First, Indiana does not have a financial assurance package. Without having the package, any operator who either decides to quit or fails due to financial difficulties, can walk away and leave millions of gallons of manure for the State to clean up. Who pays for this? We the taxpayers. Many of the CAFOs are owned or contracted by large corporations from out of state. If they want to do business in Indiana, they should be willing to put up a bond for cleanup.
The second concern is for the health of the residents who are forced to live next to them.
In Indiana there is not even an air monitor for monitoring the air around CAFOs - even though the facts have been studied and the emissions contain hydrogen sulfide and ammonia.
In fact, last year five people living near a CAFO were ill and IDEM did not have a monitor for agricultural use. If you are living near a CAFO, you are on your own to protect your health.
Third, our waters in Indiana are impaired with E. coli. Certainly not all the pollution is caused by CAFOs, but until we have deeper setbacks from waterways when spreading manure we can expect to see more pollution.
Fourth, the operators who haul and spread the manure are not required to have any training or license. All septic waste haulers must be licensed, yet you can haul thousands of gallons of manure contaminated with cleaning solutions and medicines without a license? My vehicle was sprayed with manure on a state highway last summer and I know others who have had the same disgusting experience.
We need deeper setbacks from all residences. It is a sad fact that farmers have worked their whole lives to build assets in a farm and home, only to see it devalue because a CAFO moved in next door.
In Indiana, there has been a push to double the pork production. What they did not do was have the proper regulations in place before starting the program. This is why we must have a moratorium to stop, study, and regulate before allowing any more to build. North Carolina has a moratorium and some other states have good regulations.
It seems the citizens of Indiana deserve better than what we are seeing happen now. Indiana needs a moratorium on construction of new CAFOs.
A hearing on this legislation by the Energy and Environmental Committee of the Indiana Senate is scheduled for Monday.
Barbara Sha Cox
Richmond[[In-content Ad]]
Top Stories
9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit
Chartwells marketing
September 17, 2024 7:36 a.m.
Events
250 X 250 AD