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Floyd County considers requiring CAFO applicants to attend a hearing

Supervisors would recommend against facility siting of no shows

By Chris Baldus, cbaldus@charlescitypress.com

If you are going to put up a building to raise thousands of pigs a year, Floyd County Supervisors appear to think you should answer questions from your neighbors.

The board is considering a policy to require applicants seeking a construction permit from the state for a confinement animal feeding operation (CAFO) to attend a county public hearing. It’s likely would be the first rule of it’s kind among Iowa counties, according to Supervisor Mark Kuhn, who authored the proposal.

“I don’t think any other county in Iowa has done it, that doesn’t mean we can’t, and I think we should based on our past record,” Kuhn said

That history includes the supervisors holding two public hearings last year about the master matrix evaluations of proposed CAFO sites. Neighbors attended and asked the board questions that applicants seemed better equipped to answer, supervisors said.

“This we can do to protect our air and water quality that won’t have one little negative impact on the future of farming in Floyd County or our support for agriculture,” Kuhn said.

The proposal requires the CAFO owner seeking a state construction permit and any agent that fills out the master matrix evaluation to attend a public hearing or have the supervisors automatically recommend against the permit to the DNR. They will have two chances to attend a hearing.

A county recommendation does not stop a permit from being issued, however. The DNR must weigh passage on the score on the matrix and adherence to applicable state laws. If a county reviews the master matrix evaluation and recommends against the CAFO siting, the DNR then must do it’s own review of the matrix. If the county recommends approval, the DNR does not need to do an evaluation of the master matrix, according to a hand out from Kuhn.

Not all CAFO need a construction permit, however. It depends on the capacity of the facility. For example a facility for 2,499 hogs is not required to go through the master matrix evaluation.

Supervisor Linda Tjaden supported the proposal and the importance it puts on applicants attending a hearing to answer board and neighbor questions.

“It is  really our duty to get that information out the best we can,” Tjaden said. “So, I look at this, what you are proposing, and I think this will be giving them every opportunity.”  

It also helps give understanding how important it is for them to attend, she said. However, Tjaden voiced concern about the tenor these public hearings could take on.

“A public hearing has to take place, (but), you, don’t want it to be a free for all either,” Tjaden said. “It’s just giving that opportunity for the neighbors to be able to ask questions of that applicant.”

Said Kuhn:  “It’s the responsibility of the chair of the board of supervisors to conduct the meeting in a way that provides for a proper flow of information and creates an atmosphere that is conducive to that and not confrontational.”

Kuhn is offering the proposal after an exchange last week at a public hearing about a resolution asking the governor and Legislature to revisit the “failings” of the master matrix, in particular how it does not take into account the unique Karst topography in the area that makes groundwater here more susceptible to pollution.

An applicant for a permit to built a CAFO near Rudd said it is difficult to attend public hearings if you are not told about it.

Kuhn said he should have known about the public hearing because he applied for the permit and signed the master matrix.

Kuhn will present two more proposals in coming weeks regarding how the county will work with CAFO proposals, he said.

“This is the first of three resolutions I will be proposing dealing with the specifics that I believe we need to protect the groundwater and air resources  of Floyd County,” he said.

Kuhn contacted Farm Bureau representative Randy Heitz at least 30 minutes prior to Monday’s meeting. He noted that Heitz sent out a message to prior to the public hearing last week that was effective in turning out people that the board wanted to hear from. He wants Heitz on hand for the board’s policy discussions.

Kuhn said the board will bring the proposals up one at a time “so everybody is aware and can comment on them and we can talk about things we are actually doing here.”

Heitz suggested putting off adoption of the first proposal for a few months so he could get input from the bureau’s members. Kuhn said it was something the board wanted to get done within the next two and a half weeks.

The Farm Bureau, like the Charles City Press, receives emailed agendas for all Board of Supervisors meetings, County Auditor Gloria Carr said.

The language of Kuhn’s proposal is:

“1. Floyd County shall send a letter by certified mail and an email to the applicant of the proposed CAFO and any person listed on the applicant’s construction permit application form (Item 1-C) notifying them of the time and place of the public hearing on the proposed CAFO. The letter shall include the public notice published in official county newspapers that a public hearing on the proposed CAFO will be held. The letter shall also notify the applicant and any person listed on the applicant’s construction permit application form (Item 1C) that they are both required to be present at the public hearing. If they do not appear at the public hearing, the Floyd County Board of Supervisors shall request a 30-day continuance from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for the purpose of scheduling another public hearing on the proposed CAFO.

“2. Floyd COunty shall send a letter by regular mail to all residents within a one mile radius of the CAFO. The letter shall include the public notice published in official county newspapers that a public hearing on a proposed CAFO located within one mile of their residence will be held.

“3. If either the applicant of the proposed CAFO or the person listed  on the applicant’s construction permit application form (Item 1-C) does not attend the second public hearing, the Floyd County Board of Supervisors shall recommend disapproval of the proposed CAFO to the IDNR.”

 

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