PEORIA, IL -- Two more confined animal feeding operations are planned for counties near Peoria, prompting opponents to call for a moratorium on these awful CAFOS.
Here are news releases about this situation.
Mason County Concerned Citizens
Illinois Citizens for Clean Air and Water
Media Contacts:
Kay Curtis 217-361-5770
Geno Santana 309-339-1898
Randy Burgett 309-348-5891
Concerned Citizens of Mason County (CCMC)
Karen Hudson 309-208-8846 [email protected]
Illinois Coalition for Clean Air and Water (ICCAW)
Mason County Coalition Opposes CAFO at Mason County Board Meeting April 13
A Proposed CAFO in Mason County Sparks Renewed Calls To Reform Weak Regulations
A growing coalition of residents in Mason County are opposing a new 2,400 head swine CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation) proposal near Kilbourne. A representative of the Mason County Concerned Citizens (MCCC) presented their opposition to the project today at a Mason County Board meeting. The community has organized to preserve what is left of the rural quality of life and environment in Illinois which is experiencing an expansion of poorly regulated industrial size livestock operations.
The coalition has already collected nearly 100 signatures opposing the project. Today they discussed their views and presented resolutions calling for stronger laws that have been passed by elected officials in other Illinois counties.
Of major concern are toxic gases and emissions, property devaluation, and the contamination of private wells rural residents depend on for drinking water. The Mahomet Aquifer, designated a “sole source aquifer” provides drinking water for Mason County and over 500,000 residents in several Illinois counties.
The swine operation will generate approximately 780,000 gallons of urine and feces per year which will be stored in 10’ deep underground pits with a mere 5 feet separation from Mahomet aquifer material.
“We do not envision a 2400 head hog confinement enhancing future positive development in Mason County. We respect raising livestock but not this model of intensive production that has degraded rural communities and water resources across the country,” stated long time resident Kaye Curtis of Kilbourne who presented her findings to the board.
“The swine industry habitually promises that CAFOs will not impact communities however research and case histories across the country proves the opposite,” said Karen Hudson of Illinois Coalition for Clean Air & Water.
The coalition of landowners is also protesting the project’s application at the Illinois Department of Agriculture after discovering alleged errors and omissions.
Illinois Coalition for Clean Air and Water is a state-wide coalition of family farmers and community groups advocating for sensible policies and practices that promote responsible livestock production, protect the environment, public health, and rural quality of life.
Concerned Fulton Farmers & Citizens
Illinois Coalition for Clean Air and Water
Media Contacts: Robyn Olson 309-333-0931, Concerned Fulton Farmers and Citizens (CFFC)
Karen Hudson 309-208-8846 [email protected]
Illinois Coalition for Clean Air and Water (ICCAW)www.ICCAW.org
Coalition Opposes Twin Swine Factories
Two Proposed CAFOs in Fulton County Spark Renewed Calls to Reform Weak Regulations
As in many other counties across the state, yet another coalition, the Concerned Fulton Farmers & Citizens (CFFC), has organized to oppose the unfettered expansion of hog factory farms in Illinois. CFFC is opposing two 2,480 head concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in Lee Township near Prairie City. This community’s concerns mirror others across the state as they realize that the Illinois livestock laws and regulations provide little protection to the neighboring landowners and that these two hog farms escaped the need for a public hearing and the submission of a manure management plan.
The twin hog barns are being proposed as two separate projects under Radius Ag LLC. The separate applications by two members of the same family will be located on a single parcel of land. This highlights a common practice in new CAFO applications where CAFO barn numbers are routinely and deliberately falling ever so slightly under the “magic threshold” number of 2,500-head of swine. Any larger and the law requires the Illinois Department of Agriculture to hold public informational meetings, the evaluation of the eight (8) siting criteria that must be met before approval, and the development of waste management plans for the liquid swine manure.
“If just one individual was listed on the Radius Ag CAFO project, the public meeting process with the community and Fulton County Board would be triggered because of the large animal numbers proposed. “One application for the two barns would also trigger a manure plan,” said Karen Hudson of the Illinois Coalition for Clean Air & Water who is assisting the community and others across the state. Hudson explained that “there appears to be a deliberate scheme to bypass local public participation and state regulatory oversight by proposing single or multiple CAFOs barely under the size threshold and by submitting separate applications under different family names and/or business entities.”
In an attempt to curtail the misuse of the “magic number threshold,” the Livestock Management Facilities Act (LMFA) (administered by the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) also includes a regulatory procedure to determine “common ownership.” The IDOA should be determining the “cumulative amount of animals” for all livestock facilities new and existing owned by the same entity. Once the cumulative amount reaches 5000 animal units, which in this case would be 12,500 swine or more, the common owner is mandated to submit a waste management plan to the Department for each of their livestock facilities.
“We have discovered that in Illinois operators may have facilities that are just a few hogs below public participation threshold numbers peppered throughout the state,” said Robyn Olson, who is a spokeswoman for CFFC and farms in the township. “We plan to follow up with IEPA and IDOA with information and questions regarding whether Radius Ag has, in fact, met the cumulative 5000 animal unit amount in other counties to trigger more rigorous management of the raw fecal waste they generate,” stated Olson.. It is way past time for the IDOA to do their job to ensure that public participation in the livestock permitting process is not avoided by obvious number games and to actively insure transparency in manure management in Illinois.
Statewide there exist more CAFOs that are owned by the same companies that consist of a multitude of smaller buildings situated across county lines. It is unknown how many other “cumulative CAFO” situations are unaccounted for in the state, due to a loophole in the law that does not require CAFOs to register with the Illinois EPA when they are constructed.
“We are following up on every detail and possible error with this project as we continue to oppose it,” stated Olson. “We have already communicated with the Illinois EPA regarding the NPDES stormwater permit mandated for the site. We will be watching for this construction permit, as well as visibly posted notices of such, prior to any earth-moving at this site,” stated Olson.
All construction projects in the United States - from highway projects to building a convenience store - that disturb more than one acre of land are required to apply for a federal stormwater construction permit. The permit requires development of a pollution prevention plan that explains how developers will control erosion and contaminated runoff from construction sites.
The CFFC coalition is collecting signatures opposing the Radius Ag project based on the impacts CAFOs are causing to public health, property values, quality of life and the environment. They will communicate with local and state elected officials to support stronger laws and close loopholes. “We were shocked to learn about the loophole that would allow these two hog facilities to almost double in herd size every two years with no public participation and in complete disregard about the adverse impacts to neighboring residents and landowners who have lived here for generations,” stated Olson.
“We are focusing on every detail and error of Radius AG’s application process and will continue to do so,” she said. The coalition is also preparing for specialized water testing training to monitor surface waters in the area.
Two representatives of Tri Oaks Ag, the integrator providing the animals, met with the local neighbors on Tuesday. Numerous promises were made to the group including the promise of little odor, but the group did not buy the attempted sales pitch.
Communities across the state have been advocating for meaningful change in CAFO regulation for years, including mandating that the Illinois EPA be involved in the initial construction and siting process, as is done in other ag-intensive states across the country.
“IDOA is the fox that guards the henhouse here in Illinois because the Department’s mission is to promote livestock production and to regulate the construction of those same facilities. Under this regulatory scenario, the number of CAFOs in Illinois steadily increases and the opportunity for public participation and regulatory oversight evaporates. The public has asked for an overhaul of this system for two decades,” said Hudson. “Our neighboring states provide more transparency and public participation than Illinois and it continues to be disrespectful that our home state cannot or will not fix this pitiful livestock regulatory system.”
CAFOs generate millions of gallons of raw feces and urine in massive buildings that are designed to exhaust toxic gases like ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and particulates into the neighborhood. We know large CAFOs pose a real threat to human health and the environment – the published literature is rife with proof. “There is no good reason to roll out the welcome carpet for the incoming wave of CAFO without due diligence in these matters, especially given the risks they pose to human health and the environment,” Hudson concluded.
Illinois Coalition for Clean Air and Water is a state-wide coalition of family farmers and community groups advocating for sensible policies and practices that promote responsible livestock production, protect the environment, public health, and rural quality of life.
For more information about ICCAW, please go to www.ICCAW.org
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