Floyd County asks state to address ‘failings’ of CAFO citing process

By Chris Baldus, cbaldus@charlescitypress.com

Floyd County again is asking the Legislature to make changes to an evaluation tool used in the permitting process for confined animal feeding operations.

By a 2-1 vote, with Supervisor Mark Kuhn voting against, the County Board approved a resolution petitioning the governor and Legislature “to address the failings of the Master Matrix to protect the air, water, health, quality of life and economic interests of the citizens we were elected to represent.”

A second part of the resolution asking that the Iowa Department of Natural Resources suspend issuing CAFO construction permits until the Legislature corrects the matrix was dropped. Chairman Doug Kamm and Supervisor Linda Tjaden opposed the idea of a suspension or moratorium.

In April of 2015, the supervisors voted 3-0 to join an effort led by Dickenson County to ask the Legislature to repair the master matrix for more local control.

This latest gathering of counties calling for matrix changes is being led by Winneshiek County, from which came the language of the Floyd County resolution.

There is “not a snowball’s chance in hell” that the Legislature will impose such a suspension, Kuhn said. But calling for it will help make legislators pay attention and start talking about it, he said.

Tjaden told the gathering she had reservations about the suspension language, having a negative impact on the county’s agricultural economy, and thatperhaps the matrix is not the issue.

“We are farmers and we have livestock,” Tjaden said referring to the farm she and her husband operate near Charles City. “So I know what it’s like to live and breathe it every day.”

She’s OK with looking into matrix changes and said water quality is important to her.

“I’ve said it before, I have no problem, I think it’s a good idea for them to re-evaluate the master matrix.”

She said there is more to look at, though.

“We need to sure we’re getting the facts,” she said. “When the buildings are being built there are regulations that you’re all following. When there is siting to be looked at, you’re doing everything within you regulations to make sure that you’re properly putting them in areas you are allowed to do.”

Tjaden added: “I really believe maybe the issue isn’t so much about the master matrix as it is trying to re-evaluate what they have for applying manure management. Nobody is really ever talking about that.”

Tjaden made the motion to approve the resolution without the call for the suspension.

The board held its hearing on the resolution Tuesday morning in the ground floor assembly room at the courthouse. There were 20 chairs for visitors. Twenty-eight people signed in for the meeting and people stood along the back wall and into the hallway. It lasted about 2 1/2 hours.

A leading concern from the audience was about hurting agricultural businesses and jobs. Speakers also talked about how they have followed rules in spreading of manure and constructing CAFOs.

Supervisors Kamm and Kuhn advocated changes to the matrix because of the risk posed to groundwater in the county because of its Karst topography and sinkholes. It’s a unique situation in northeast Iowa that is not taken into account in the current matrix.