New Legislature likely to review livestock confinement issue
By Charlotte Eby, Journal Des Moines Bureau | Posted: Tuesday, December 26, 2006
DES MOINES -- Shirley McIntosh of Dumont, Iowa, has never been politically active.
But after a livestock confinement was built close to her rural home, she moved into town with her mother when she said the fumes became too much.
She has sent out 121 hand-addressed letters to medical facilities in Iowa, asking them to contact Iowa legislators and tell them about what she believes are the health problems caused by livestock confinements.
"I'm adamant about the health issue. It's not personally for me -- it's for everybody," she said.
McIntosh's 79-year-old mother, Toddie Poplin, suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a condition she says was made worse by the smell from the confinement.
"You couldn't have your windows open because that air would be in the house, and that didn't help her breathing," McIntosh said.
The prospect of more livestock confinements being built nearby concerns McIntosh. She worries that rural property owners will be forgotten by the Iowa Legislature.
"Politicians, they don't care about the little guy out in the country. They really truly don't. They have bigger business to worry about," McIntosh said.
Arguments over whether large hog lots are detrimental to the health of neighbors have been a divisive issue in the Legislature.
And new Democratic majorities in both chambers have revived talk about the prospect for new state livestock regulations. But much of the talk has surrounded keeping confinements from being built near major tourist attractions including Lake Okoboji and Clear Lake rather than on the potential health effects.
Democratic leaders say it is unlikely they'll hand over power to county governments to decide where new confinements can be built. Proponents of local control say locals know better whether a hog confinement or cattle feedlot fits into an area.
Incoming House Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, said a majority of House Democrats want to work on hog lot regulations, but said there are not enough votes for local control.
"Instead of getting into those kinds of fights, we have to realize what unites us and not what divides us," Murphy said.
Gov. nelect Chet Culver, a Democrat, campaigned on allowing local control but is willing to try to find common ground on the hog lot issue. He predicts lawmakers might come together with new rules to protect Iowa waterways from pollution caused by livestock confinements.
But he said the state can't continue to tweak livestock regulations because temporary fixes have not worked in the past.
"I do think it's time to roll up our sleeves and try to find a more permanent solution," Culver said.
Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said it is too early to rule anything in or out.
"I think our caucus feels pretty strongly on environmental issues, and I think our committees will want to take a look at the environmental impacts of hog facilities and look at toughening those laws," Gronstal said.
Move to protect tourist sites
Lawmakers in both parties agree some changes could be made.
Republican Sen. Thurman Gaskill, a Corwith farmer, stresses the need to keep the livestock industry in Iowa.
But he said he believes some areas should be off limits to large livestock confinements. Controversy has raged in his district with a proposal to build a confinement near Clear Lake, a treasured natural resource and tourist destination.
"There are some areas in our state where I feel that we absolutely should not have any livestock," Gaskill said.
He said he believes in promoting a mix of better conservation practices at the sites such as the planting of trees to cut down on the spread of odor, as well as giving locals a stronger voice in where livestock facilities can be located.
Gaskill envisions having a county committee made up of a health and legal professionals as well as members of the agricultural industry to evaluate site proposals and approve them before they are sent to the state for final approval.
Health effects debated
Wayne Gieselman, administrator of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' environmental services division, said he believes the debate on livestock confinements should center around the health effects of their emissions.
"The issue here should be human health, and not just protecting tourism dollars," Gieselman said.
Legislation passed in 2002 directed the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to conduct an air quality study and to propose air quality standards for livestock confinements. The Iowa Legislature, controlled by Republicans at that time, ultimately rejected the DNR's proposal for new standards.
The DNR is currently monitoring the health effects of hydrogen sulfide emissions from 10 livestock facilities around the state.
If the emissions are found to exceed the health effects standard too many times in a calendar year, the department will move forward with a health effects standard for hydrogen sulfide. So far that has not happened.
The DNR also has completed a three-year odor study, taking odor readings near livestock confinements, but ended the study after funding was dropped last year. The state has not adopted odor standards.
Incoming House Minority Leader Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, said the debate and legislation should not be ruled by emotion.
"All of this needs to be based on sound science," Rants said.
Rep. Delores Mertz, D-Ottosen, a livestock producer and the incoming chairwoman of the House Agriculture Committee, said they could take another look at separation distance requirements for livestock facilities near bodies of water, schools or churches.
Livestock confinements are located close to Mertz's home in nearly every direction, although she says she rarely smells them.
"I am surrounded by hog units, and I don't have a problem with them," she said.
She said she does not favor a heavy-handed approach to livestock regulation and said any discussions should bring all groups with an interest in the issue to the table.
"We can't afford to drive this billion-dollar industry out of this state," she said.
Charlotte Eby can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.
But after a livestock confinement was built close to her rural home, she moved into town with her mother when she said the fumes became too much.
She has sent out 121 hand-addressed letters to medical facilities in Iowa, asking them to contact Iowa legislators and tell them about what she believes are the health problems caused by livestock confinements.
"I'm adamant about the health issue. It's not personally for me -- it's for everybody," she said.
McIntosh's 79-year-old mother, Toddie Poplin, suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a condition she says was made worse by the smell from the confinement.
"You couldn't have your windows open because that air would be in the house, and that didn't help her breathing," McIntosh said.
The prospect of more livestock confinements being built nearby concerns McIntosh. She worries that rural property owners will be forgotten by the Iowa Legislature.
"Politicians, they don't care about the little guy out in the country. They really truly don't. They have bigger business to worry about," McIntosh said.
Arguments over whether large hog lots are detrimental to the health of neighbors have been a divisive issue in the Legislature.
And new Democratic majorities in both chambers have revived talk about the prospect for new state livestock regulations. But much of the talk has surrounded keeping confinements from being built near major tourist attractions including Lake Okoboji and Clear Lake rather than on the potential health effects.
Democratic leaders say it is unlikely they'll hand over power to county governments to decide where new confinements can be built. Proponents of local control say locals know better whether a hog confinement or cattle feedlot fits into an area.
Incoming House Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, said a majority of House Democrats want to work on hog lot regulations, but said there are not enough votes for local control.
"Instead of getting into those kinds of fights, we have to realize what unites us and not what divides us," Murphy said.
Gov. nelect Chet Culver, a Democrat, campaigned on allowing local control but is willing to try to find common ground on the hog lot issue. He predicts lawmakers might come together with new rules to protect Iowa waterways from pollution caused by livestock confinements.
But he said the state can't continue to tweak livestock regulations because temporary fixes have not worked in the past.
"I do think it's time to roll up our sleeves and try to find a more permanent solution," Culver said.
Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said it is too early to rule anything in or out.
"I think our caucus feels pretty strongly on environmental issues, and I think our committees will want to take a look at the environmental impacts of hog facilities and look at toughening those laws," Gronstal said.
Move to protect tourist sites
Lawmakers in both parties agree some changes could be made.
Republican Sen. Thurman Gaskill, a Corwith farmer, stresses the need to keep the livestock industry in Iowa.
But he said he believes some areas should be off limits to large livestock confinements. Controversy has raged in his district with a proposal to build a confinement near Clear Lake, a treasured natural resource and tourist destination.
"There are some areas in our state where I feel that we absolutely should not have any livestock," Gaskill said.
He said he believes in promoting a mix of better conservation practices at the sites such as the planting of trees to cut down on the spread of odor, as well as giving locals a stronger voice in where livestock facilities can be located.
Gaskill envisions having a county committee made up of a health and legal professionals as well as members of the agricultural industry to evaluate site proposals and approve them before they are sent to the state for final approval.
Health effects debated
Wayne Gieselman, administrator of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' environmental services division, said he believes the debate on livestock confinements should center around the health effects of their emissions.
"The issue here should be human health, and not just protecting tourism dollars," Gieselman said.
Legislation passed in 2002 directed the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to conduct an air quality study and to propose air quality standards for livestock confinements. The Iowa Legislature, controlled by Republicans at that time, ultimately rejected the DNR's proposal for new standards.
The DNR is currently monitoring the health effects of hydrogen sulfide emissions from 10 livestock facilities around the state.
If the emissions are found to exceed the health effects standard too many times in a calendar year, the department will move forward with a health effects standard for hydrogen sulfide. So far that has not happened.
The DNR also has completed a three-year odor study, taking odor readings near livestock confinements, but ended the study after funding was dropped last year. The state has not adopted odor standards.
Incoming House Minority Leader Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, said the debate and legislation should not be ruled by emotion.
"All of this needs to be based on sound science," Rants said.
Rep. Delores Mertz, D-Ottosen, a livestock producer and the incoming chairwoman of the House Agriculture Committee, said they could take another look at separation distance requirements for livestock facilities near bodies of water, schools or churches.
Livestock confinements are located close to Mertz's home in nearly every direction, although she says she rarely smells them.
"I am surrounded by hog units, and I don't have a problem with them," she said.
She said she does not favor a heavy-handed approach to livestock regulation and said any discussions should bring all groups with an interest in the issue to the table.
"We can't afford to drive this billion-dollar industry out of this state," she said.
Charlotte Eby can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 0 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
