CAFO Bill Defeated in Indiana House
Published: Friday, February 22, 2019
Legislation calling for tougher restrictions on so-called factory farms in Indiana has been resoundingly defeated.
The Indiana House Committee on Environmental Affairs last Thursday decided not to advance the measure. The vote was 9-3.
House Bill 1378 would have given the Indiana Department of Environmental Management the authority to deny a permit for new confined animal feeding operations less than one mile from an existing residence unless permission was obtained from the landowner.
IDEM also would have had power to deny a permit to a new CAFO within one mile of a residence, church, school, park and other public property unless there was technology controlling the quality of the air beyond the boundaries of the livestock operation.
Under the legislation, a permit application also could have been rejected for any new operation not complying with local ordinances aimed at reducing groundwater and air pollution.
New CAFOs would have been prohibited in flood plains, rocky terrain and other environmentally sensitive areas.
Presently, new CAFOs in Indiana can go as close as 400 feet from a residence.
Kim Ferraro, senior staff attorney for Hoosier Environmental Council, said IDEM also would have been given authority to regulate compounds like hydrogen, sulfide and ammonia released into the air from the waste of livestock.
She cited studies linking negative impacts on human health and quality of life from such emissions in people living near CAFOs.
Opponents of the measure argued no new CAFOs would be constructed if forced to be a mile away from public property in a state that's among the leaders in pork, chicken and egg production.
Indiana Pork Producers Assn. and Indiana Farm Bureau also claimed IDEM already has sufficient regulatory authority over large livestock operations.
Josh Trenary, executive director of IPPA, said regulations on air emissions from CAFOs that could be applied to Indiana are in the process of being developed at the federal level.
He also said waste emissions standards in the legislation went over and above what's needed for a livestock facility because of how quickly the odor dissipates in the air.
Trenary said IDEM also limits how much manure from a CAFO can be applied to the fields as fertilizer to minimize the risk for storm run-off contamination and water pollution.
"By and large, our manure is going to stay on the land application area where it's intended to build organic matter and fertilize the crop," he said.
Trenary also said there are ordinances already in place at local levels of government that regulate the distance between new animal feeding operations and nearby properties.
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