Deal gives public a say in feedlot operations.Byline: Susan Palmer The Register-Guard People concerned about water pollution from large-scale animal feeding operations now will have a voice in the permit process because of a lawsuit settled this month between environmentalists and the state. The settlement requires the Oregon Department of Agriculture to make applications for new large-scale feedlots available for public review. If 10 or more people request it, the state also must hold a public informational hearing. The new public notification requirement applies only to the largest of the so-called concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs. That includes farms with at least 700 mature dairy cows; 1,000 cattle such as heifers, steers, bulls, cow-calf pairs or veal veal, flesh of a calf from two to three months old weighing usually less than 300 lb (135 kg). The locomotion of the veal calves is often restricted, and they are fed a real or synthetic milk that is high in protein and low in iron; this produces the desired calves; 2,500 swine; 500 horses; 10,000 sheep or lambs; 55,000 turkeys; or 125,000 chickens, depending on the manure-handling system. The state also regulates smaller farms, which must have permits governing how they manage animal waste. But smaller farms will continue to be able to obtain permits without public comment. Operators with current permits who submit new waste management plans won't be subjected to public review, said Debbie Gorham, who oversees the Natural Resources Division of the Department of Agriculture. The settlement comes as states nationwide grapple with the effects of large-scale animal feedlots. The hog farm The Hog Farm is an organization considered to be America's longest running hippie commune. With beginnings as an actual collective hog farm in Tujunga, California, the group, founded in the 1960s, by a group of people including Wavy Gravy, evolved into a "mobile, industry in particular has drawn widespread criticism for its massive waste volumes, its noxious noxious adj. harmful to health, often referring to nuisances. runoff and its odors Odors anosmia Medicine. the absence of the sense of smell; olfactory anesthesia. Also called anosphrasia. — anosmic, adj. halitosis bad breath; an unpleasant odor emanating from the mouth. . In Lane County, there are 14 farms with concentrated animal feeding operation permits, ranging in size from small to large. Three are considered large under federal rules. These three - Lochmead Dairy in Junction City Junction City, city (1990 pop. 20,604), seat of Geary co., NE Kans., at the confluence of the Republican and Smoky Hill rivers; inc. 1859. The rail, trade, and processing center of an agricultural and dairy area, it grew as the supply point for nearby Fort Riley, , Konyn Dairy on Coburg Road outside Eugene and Gamble Farms, a Junction City chicken farm - all have approved animal waste management plans, as required by 2003 federal regulations. Of the other Lane County CAFO-permitted farms, eight have not yet developed animal waste management plans. Last year's federal regulations require medium-sized operations to have waste management plans in place by October 2005, and small ones to have plans by July 2006. Potential for pollution Environmentalists filed the suit that led to the public-review settlement because of concerns about the potential for pollution generated by big feedlots. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1970 to reduce and control air and water pollution, noise pollution, and radiation and to ensure the safe handling and , a cow produces about 120 pounds of manure a day - about the same amount of waste generated by 20 to 40 people. A dairy with 700 cows generates 84,000 pounds of manure daily. Dairies, chicken farms and other large operations have storage systems such as lagoons or holding tanks to handle the waste. They apply it as fertilizer on fields or sell it to firms such as Lane Forest Products or Rexius that create compost for gardeners. But manure is also a significant source of water pollution, said Charlie Tebbutt, an attorney with the Eugene-based Western Environmental Law Center The Western Environmental Law Center is a public-interest, nonprofit organization headquartered in Eugene, Oregon, that was started in the early 1990s by public interest attorneys Michael Axline and John Bonine. , which filed the suit on behalf of the Oregon Natural Resource Council, the Northwest Environmental Defense Center, the Oregon Toxics Alliance and the Columbia Riverkeepers. "The regulations that existed prior to this new rule left huge gaps in the regulatory scheme," Tebbutt said. Along with the public review, the settlement also requires operators whose waste illegally discharges into state waters twice within two years to conduct in-stream water-quality monitoring to assess the impact. During the last fiscal year, October 2003 to September 2004, Oregon had 600 permitted concentrated animal feeding operations. During that time, the state found that 172 of the farms failed to comply with the animal waste rules of their permits, 65 of the notices of noncompliance noncompliance failure of the owner to follow instructions, particularly in administering medication as prescribed; a cause of a less than expected response to treatment. noncompliance were serious enough to require correction plans that would take longer than 30 days to fix. And three farms - none in Lane County - faced fines for polluting pol·lute tr.v. pol·lut·ed, pol·lut·ing, pol·lutes 1. To make unfit for or harmful to living things, especially by the addition of waste matter. See Synonyms at contaminate. 2. Oregon waters. Increased oversight Gorham said the state has increased its oversight in the past few years. In 2003, the Legislature directed the state to make sure farmers complied with the new federal regulations on CAFOs. Five years ago, Oregon agriculture officials conducted on-site inspections at dairies and farms only every five years, she said. Now, they visit each year, and farms must submit an annual report. The increased visits led to a jump in the number of noncompliance notices, Gorham said, but that has stabilized and dropped in recent years, she said. Under the terms of the settlement, the Oregon Department of Agriculture also must clarify its rules on discharges of waste on water-saturated or frozen ground, activities that were prohibited under the old rules, but with definitions so vague they were unenforceable Adj. 1. unenforceable - not enforceable; not capable of being brought about by compulsion; "an unenforceable law"; "unenforceable reforms" enforceable - capable of being enforced , Tebbutt said. "The new set of rules sets out a clear framework for compliance," he said. The scope of water pollution caused by animal waste from the state's feedlots is unclear, said Ranei Nomura, a spokeswoman at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Analysis of water pollution in the Willamette Basin, which includes all of the waters feeding into the Willamette River Willamette River River, northwestern Oregon, U.S. It flows north for 300 mi (485 km) into the Columbia River near Portland. Oregon's most populous cities are in its valley. The Fremont Bridge, a steel arch with a main span of 1,225 ft (373 m), crosses the river at Portland. , indicate that high bacteria levels can be at least partially attributed to runoff from agricultural operations, she said. Animal waste can include pathogens such as the E. coli E. coli: see Escherichia coli. E. coli in full Escherichia coli Species of bacterium that inhabits the stomach and intestines. E. coli can be transmitted by water, milk, food, or flies and other insects. bacteria, giardia Giardia /Gi·ar·dia/ (je-ahr´de-ah) a genus of flagellate protozoa parasitic in the intestinal tract of humans and other animals, which may cause giardiasis; G. lam´blia (G. intestina´lis) is the species found in humans. , cryptosporidium cryptosporidium (krĭp'tōspərĭd`ēəm), genus of protozoans having at least four species; they are waterborne parasites that cause the disease cryptosporidiosis. , and salmonella. Headquartered in Eugene, the nonprofit Western Environmental Law Center also represents environmental groups in other states, and this month filed a notice of intent to sue five large dairies in New Mexico New Mexico, state in the SW United States. At its northwestern corner are the so-called Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet at right angles; New Mexico is also bordered by Oklahoma (NE), Texas (E, S), and Mexico (S). , Tebbutt said. Environmental groups there have charged the New Mexico dairies with illegally discharging animal wastes into the Pecos and Brazos rivers. LANE COUNTY'S FEEDLOTS Feedlots issued permits by the state as concentrated animal feeding operations, with location and permitted animal volume High Pass Ranch, Junction City: 70,000 chickens Featherland Farms, Coburg: 80,000 hens Johnson Ranch, Junction City: 25 beef cattle, 500 ewes Eugene Livestock Auction, Junction City: 900 animals, including cows, goats, horses Gamble Farms, Junction City: 130,000 chickens Chicken Ranch, Creswell: 105,000 chickens Nicholas Sumich, Blachly: 75 dairy cows Kjelde Dairy, Cottage Grove Cottage Grove, village (1990 pop. 22,935), Washington co., SE Minn., near the St. Croix River; inc. 1965. There is farming (cattle, sheep, corn, and soybeans) and manufacturing (chemicals and machinery). : 350 dairy cows, 150 heifers Keystone Ranch, Blachly: 155 dairy cows, 74 heifers Chuck and Phyllis Lehman Dairy, Crow: 600 cows, 150 heifers Henderson's Poultry, Veneta: 65,000 chickens Harrolds Dairy, Creswell: 310 dairy cows; 180 heifers Lochmead Dairy, Junction City: 1,800 cows and other animals Konyn Dairy, Eugene: 1,800 dairy cows, 200 heifers |
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