By STAN MADDUX

Indiana Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Legislation calling for tougher restrictions on so-called factory farms in Indiana has been resoundingly defeated. The state House Committee on Environmental Affairs on Feb. 13 decided not to advance the measure, by a vote of 9-3.

House Bill 1378 would have given the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) the authority to deny a permit for new confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) 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 or 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 locate as close as 400 feet from a residence. “Imagine having to live just 400 feet away from 10,000 hogs and the waste they produce,” said Kim Ferraro, senior staff attorney for the Hoosier Environmental Council.

She said IDEM also would have been given authority to regulate compounds such as 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 in a state that’s among the leaders in pork, chicken and egg production, if they were forced to be located a mile away from public property. The Indiana Pork Producers Assoc. (IPPA) 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.

He said IDEM limits how much manure from a CAFO can be applied to the fields as fertilizer, to minimize the risk for storm runoff 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.

Ferraro said federal regulations on air emissions are still not in place despite the effort stemming back to 2005. She referenced research indicating emissions from large livestock farms can travel up to three miles “with the greatest impacts on people within a mile.”

She said inspections by IDEM of a livestock operation’s land application process are only required every five years despite claiming a 4,000-head livestock operation produces as much as waste as a community of more than 300,000 people.

She said the defeat of the bill was not unexpected, given the strong support for agriculture in the state, but her organization is not discouraged from continuing to push for regulations both sides can agree to next year.

“This isn’t over-the-top, crazy stuff. This is common-sense regulation that applies to every other industry that has this sort of an industrial-scale impact,” Ferraro explained.

Also opposed to the measure were the Indiana Corn Growers Assoc. and the Indiana Soybean Alliance (ISA). The organizations said Indiana livestock consumes 95 percent of all soybean meal and 40 percent of all corn produced in the state.

“A healthy Indiana livestock sector means healthy Indiana farms and a healthy Indiana economy,” said Phil Ramsey, a soybean grower from Shelby County and chair of the ISA Membership and Policy Committee.