Should Iowa close the factory farm loopholes?
Strengthen the Factory Farm Rules - Part 2
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reviews factory farm rules only once every five years. Now is our chance to strengthen the rules. Iowa is in a water crisis because voluntary compliance isn’t working. It’s time to close factory farm loopholes in order to protect People and Planet! Why do we want a stronger rule? Factory farms produce 22 billion gallons of manure every year in Iowa and that manure is polluting our water. This is an opportunity to hold factory farms accountable and help us achieve a clean water Iowa IF it is strengthened. Take action to hold factory farms accountable for their water pollution here! We’re demanding DNR close corporate factory farm loopholes as part of the rule strengthening. Here are 3 examples of loopholes that must be closed.
People before polluters
Should Iowa close the factory farm loopholes?
LLC Loophole. We’re seeing 2,499 head factory farms build one right after another under different LLCs. Iowans who have fought factory farms from coming in next door are sick and tired of them building just one-or-two hogs under the permit threshold so they can skirt around permitting laws. We think it’s time they close this LLC loophole and regulate them like any other factory farm that houses 2,500 hogs or more.
County Extensions. Did you know that the factory farm applicant and Iowa DNR can ask for a 30 days extension on an application but the County Board of Supervisors cannot? Under Iowa law a notice about an incoming factory farm must be published in the local paper. But, most neighbors don’t find out until it’s nearly too late to fight. We believe that counties should be allowed extensions just like the developer and the DNR.
Commercial businesses. In 2012, Iowa DNR and Prestage Farms told CCI member JoAnn that her business wasn’t considered a “commercial enterprise” because it wasn’t open in the winter. This meant the factory farm could build closer to her than if they ruled it was commercial enterprise. This is Iowa – we have harsh winters. Lots of Iowa businesses, like landscape companies, vacation resorts, and ice cream shops, close down in the winter. That doesn’t make them less of a business. DNR needs to expand its definition of a commercial enterprise to make sure all of Iowa’s family-owned businesses are protected from factory farms.
These are just three ways we’re suggesting DNR close corporate loopholes to even the playing field for Iowans across the state. We have 11 total demands to deliver to the DNR. Click here tell the Iowa DNR to close corporate factory farm loopholes by strengthening the factory farm rule! We need 1,000 comments by June – let’s do this! If you missed our last post about how we want to strengthen the rules click here.