Dickinson County rejects proposed hog facility
Supervisors send letter of opposition to DNR
By Greg Drees, Journal correspondent | Posted: Wednesday, June 28, 2006
SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa -- The message from about 100 citizens was clear: Stay out of Dickinson County.
The board of supervisors agreed Tuesday, telling a representative from New Fashion Pork (NFP) of Jackson, Minn., it unanimously disapproves of a proposed 4,000-head hog confinement facility west of Spirit Lake.
Voting 4-0, with supervisor Pam Jordan absent, the board instructed Assistant County Attorney Lonnie Saunders to draft a letter to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources opposing the construction permit and asking for a soil boring performance of the site.
Jay Moore, environmental manager for NFP, told the board the company is proposing a 4,000-head finish operation in Diamond Lake Township, about four miles west of the junction of Highways 9 and 71. Moore said site plans have passed the DNR's Master Matrix, which awards point totals based on inspection and data criteria. Manure from the operation -- about 1 million gallons annually -- would be injected onto 320 acres of farmland near the Little Sioux River, Moore said.
Donna Buell, a Spirit Lake attorney and a member of the state's Environmental Resources Commission, told Moore that the proposed project would be detrimental to the area.
"Dickinson County supports a $150 million-a-year tourism industry," Buell said. "How can you plop a hog lot on top of us? This area is different and we will fight you until we win. You should cut your losses and leave."
Bill Murphy, a land owner in the area, said the proposed CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) would destroy what he and other property owners have been striving to achieve with prairie restorations and conservation efforts.
"This (project) is like participating in environmental terrorism," Murphy said. "We must fight this tooth and nail until it is turned down."
Moore said NFP -- which has operations in Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Minnesota, Illinois and Indiana -- has followed DNR rules and is trying to build a responsible operation.
"We will be a good neighbor," Moore said.
Dave Kohlhaase, Dickinson County zoning administrator, said the supervisors' action does not mean a denial of the permit for NFP. Kohlhaase said the DNR -- once it receives the board's letter of opposition -- would re-evaluate the application and rescore it within the parameters of the Master Matrix. If the application again meets the DNR criteria, the agency will issue to the supervisors a notice of intent to grant the application. The supervisors may then ask for a hearing on the issue.
In 2002, Dutch Creek Farms of Fairmont, Minn., halted a proposed 4,000-head hog confinement project southwest of Milford after a nonprofit group -- Save Dickinson County's Environment -- generated a groundswell of opposition to the proposal.
How the process works
Under Iowa Code Chapter 459, an applicant applying for a CAFO (Confined Animal Feeding Operation) permit from the DNR must meet the DNR's "Master Matrix" -- a scoring system which awards points to the applicant based on satisfying certain criteria -- if the proposal is for more than 1,666 animal units.
The minimum Master Matrix score needed to gain a construction permit is 440 points. The New Fashion Pork proposal in Dickinson County achieved a score of 480. A perfect score is 880.
The supervisors must conduct a public hearing on the issue at one of their regular meetings -- which they did June 13 -- and issue a response to the DNR within 30 days. The supervisors may either approve the application or disapprove it and provide reasons why.
If the DNR receives a letter of disapproval from the supervisors, the agency will re-evaluate the application and rescore it. If the application again meets DNR criteria, the agency will notify the supervisors of the intent to issue a construction permit. The supervisors then have the option to request a hearing before the DNR.
The board of supervisors agreed Tuesday, telling a representative from New Fashion Pork (NFP) of Jackson, Minn., it unanimously disapproves of a proposed 4,000-head hog confinement facility west of Spirit Lake.
Voting 4-0, with supervisor Pam Jordan absent, the board instructed Assistant County Attorney Lonnie Saunders to draft a letter to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources opposing the construction permit and asking for a soil boring performance of the site.
Jay Moore, environmental manager for NFP, told the board the company is proposing a 4,000-head finish operation in Diamond Lake Township, about four miles west of the junction of Highways 9 and 71. Moore said site plans have passed the DNR's Master Matrix, which awards point totals based on inspection and data criteria. Manure from the operation -- about 1 million gallons annually -- would be injected onto 320 acres of farmland near the Little Sioux River, Moore said.
Donna Buell, a Spirit Lake attorney and a member of the state's Environmental Resources Commission, told Moore that the proposed project would be detrimental to the area.
"Dickinson County supports a $150 million-a-year tourism industry," Buell said. "How can you plop a hog lot on top of us? This area is different and we will fight you until we win. You should cut your losses and leave."
Bill Murphy, a land owner in the area, said the proposed CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) would destroy what he and other property owners have been striving to achieve with prairie restorations and conservation efforts.
"This (project) is like participating in environmental terrorism," Murphy said. "We must fight this tooth and nail until it is turned down."
Moore said NFP -- which has operations in Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Minnesota, Illinois and Indiana -- has followed DNR rules and is trying to build a responsible operation.
"We will be a good neighbor," Moore said.
Dave Kohlhaase, Dickinson County zoning administrator, said the supervisors' action does not mean a denial of the permit for NFP. Kohlhaase said the DNR -- once it receives the board's letter of opposition -- would re-evaluate the application and rescore it within the parameters of the Master Matrix. If the application again meets the DNR criteria, the agency will issue to the supervisors a notice of intent to grant the application. The supervisors may then ask for a hearing on the issue.
In 2002, Dutch Creek Farms of Fairmont, Minn., halted a proposed 4,000-head hog confinement project southwest of Milford after a nonprofit group -- Save Dickinson County's Environment -- generated a groundswell of opposition to the proposal.
How the process works
Under Iowa Code Chapter 459, an applicant applying for a CAFO (Confined Animal Feeding Operation) permit from the DNR must meet the DNR's "Master Matrix" -- a scoring system which awards points to the applicant based on satisfying certain criteria -- if the proposal is for more than 1,666 animal units.
The minimum Master Matrix score needed to gain a construction permit is 440 points. The New Fashion Pork proposal in Dickinson County achieved a score of 480. A perfect score is 880.
The supervisors must conduct a public hearing on the issue at one of their regular meetings -- which they did June 13 -- and issue a response to the DNR within 30 days. The supervisors may either approve the application or disapprove it and provide reasons why.
If the DNR receives a letter of disapproval from the supervisors, the agency will re-evaluate the application and rescore it. If the application again meets DNR criteria, the agency will notify the supervisors of the intent to issue a construction permit. The supervisors then have the option to request a hearing before the DNR.
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D. Nordness wrote on Jun 28, 2006 9:45 PM: