For immediate release: March
9, 2006
Des Moines, IA –
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI) blasted House Study
Bill 736 today, calling it the ‘factory farm immunity’
bill. Leading up to a state legislative public hearing on the bill
March 13th, CCI members are speaking out against the bill sponsored
by Rep. Sandy Greiner (R- Keota), the lead factory farm advocate
in the state legislature.
HSB 736 would prohibit the Department of
Natural Resources or the Attorney General’s office from taking
enforcement action against a factory farm for an environmental violation
if the factory farm owner relied on an explanation from DNR staff.
“This is just more legislation to
give factory farms preferential treatment,” said Boone CCI
member Bob Uetz. “The legislature needs to stop passing bills
pushed by the factory farm lobby and start supporting local control
and other positive legislation that support family farmers and rural
residents.”
CCI members’ concerns with the bill
include:
• Draining the DNR’s limited
resources and staff time by encouraging factory farms to use the
tax-payer funded DNR for legal advice in an attempt to avoid future
enforcement action;
• Addressing a problem that does not
exist. HSB 736 is nothing more than a “solution in search
of a problem” pushed forth by the factory farm special-interest
lobby;
• Ignoring the real issues surrounding
factory farms that rural Iowans are facing. Strong factory farm
regulations are needed to protect family farms, rural residents
and the environment – not more laws passed by factory farm
groups trying to skirt the law.
CCI members will be speaking out
against the bill at Greiner’s public hearing on the bill at
the state capitol on March 13th at 7 p.m. The Iowa DNR and Iowa
Attorney General’s office are also opposed to the bill.
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement
is a 30 year old organization with thousands of members across the
state from all walks of life who talk, act and get things done on
critical issues affecting everyday Iowans. For more information,
visit www.iowacci.org.
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