For
Immediate Release: Friday, April 14, 2006
Contact: Stan Van Der Horst at 641/655-7751, or the Iowa
CCI office at (515)282-0484
Farson, IA – Southeast
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement members and other area residents
are celebrating the DNR’s decision to deny a proposed hog
factory permit near Farson. The site, proposed by Keith Aljets and
Twin Pines LLC, which would have been a 4,300-head farrowing facility,
was denied because of numerous problems with the manure management
plan. This is only the second time in ten years that the Iowa DNR
has denied a factory farm permit.
In February, area residents took DNR director
Jeff Vonk on a tour and met with him to voice their concerns with
the proposed site. At the time of the meeting, the DNR had already
identified some concerns with the applicant using the wrong numbers
in the manure management plan. Following this meeting, the DNR and
one of the Environmental Protection Commissioners decided to take
a closer look.
A closer look revealed that there was a
bigger problem then originally thought with the phosphorus index
and erosion calculations. It appeared that the wrong numbers were
used to determine the erosion calculations, which also impact the
numbers used on the phosphorus index. However, the DNR decided to
give the facility owner another shot, and another, and another.
“We kept telling the DNR that this
was very rough ground with steep slopes. This really had us concerned.
I used to farm some of this ground, and you can hardly get a tractor
around those hills without tipping let alone a manure spreader.
It is just a bad location”, stated Stan Van Der Horst, a CCI
member from Farson and the nearest neighbor to the site.
In March, local residents went to the Environmental
Protection Commission (the DNR’s citizen oversight board)
to express concerns with the fact that after 3 tries, Twin Pines
still could not get it right. CCI member and Farson area resident
Glenda Walker stated "We thought that three times was enough
chances to get the manure management numbers right. There is a reason
why the numbers aren't coming out right. This is a very bad location."
The EPC commissioners recommended that the
DNR deny the permit since there continued to be problems. However,
at the time of the EPC meeting, DNR staff had already agreed to
give Aljets another chance to fix the manure management plan. The
newest version still had problems. Once again, the DNR gave Aljets
a chance to fix the problem. This time, however, the DNR stated
that Aljets must have the issues fixed by April 13th. Aljets was
unable to meet this deadline. It was because of these continued
issues that the DNR finally said enough is enough and denied the
site. "We are thrilled with the DNR's decision to deny this
permit. We, also, want to thank all the local residents for all
their support. It was a community effort!" said Walker.
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement
is thousands of people from all walks of life who talk, act and
get things done on issues that matter most. From factory farms moving
in next door ruining quality of life to shady lenders taking advantage
of families, CCI has been tackling tough issues and getting things
done for 30 years. To learn more visit: www.iowacci.org
-- end--
Back
to Articles
|
