Our friends at Land Stewardship Project brought our attention to an informational meeting held by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency at the Mabel Community Center Tuesday evening, concerning the proposed Catalpa, LLC 4,980-sow swine farrowing facility in Newburg Township, Fillmore County.
Since we were serving our vegetable overlords in the gardens, Bluestem was unable to leave the heights of Summit to attend, but Karen Reisner provides what we are told is thorough coverage of the event in Citizens advocate for EIS on proposed hog feedlot in Fillmore County in the Fillmore County Review:
The informational meeting held by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) regarding the proposed Catalpa LLC hog facility drew a large crowd to the Mabel Community Center Tuesday evening, June 19. More than an hour before the meeting was to begin, speakers demanding an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), a substantially more in-depth review, spoke to the crowd in front of the community center. The nearly three-hour long informational meeting began with a review of the permitting process.
Yellow shirts emblazoned with “EIS YES” and stickers with the same demand were displayed by many in the estimated 300 plus crowd. Both outside and inside the center during the meeting, people were generally courteous and respectful in their comments. Law enforcement was visible.
The project proposal is for the construction of a new 1,992 animal unit (one sow and piglets is .4 animal unit) swine facility (4,980 sows) in Sections 7 and 18, Newburg Township, about 10 miles east of Harmony. Two barns, an animal mortality composting building, one stormwater basin, and a livestock watering well are to be part of the farrowing facility. More than seven million gallons of manure will be stored in concrete pits underneath the barns. Manure is to be removed each fall and injected into cropland.
The comment period on the Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) has been extended to July 3 at 4:30 p.m. Cathy Rotshus, MPCA information officer, noted the capacity crowd was a record for a public meeting, which was being held at the request of local citizens.
Rotshus made it clear that this is not a public hearing, comments will not be part of the record or be considered in the decision making process unless the comments are submitted in writing. She said the public’s comments are important to us.
Read the rest at the Review. Land Stewardship Project has more about the comment process in URGENT: Proposed Massive Factory Farm in Fillmore County Needs FULL Environmental Review:
Catalpa LLC out of Waukon, Iowa, is proposing a massive factory hog farm in Fillmore County. The proposal is undergoing an initial environmental review. Due to public pressure, the comment period was extended until Tuesday, July 3, 2018, at 4:30 p.m.
Here are some of the details:
- Catalpa, LLC proposes to build a 4,980-sow swine farrowing facility in Sections 7 and 18, Newburg Township.
- This factory farm will generate 7.3 million gallons of liquid manure annually.
- The facility will use 8.8 million gallons of groundwater annually, for a total consumption of 220 million gallons over 25 years.
- The address listed for the permittee is Catalpa LLC, 10 9th St. SW, Waukon, IA 52172. This is the address for Waukon Feed Ranch.
This project is undergoing an initial Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) as required by law. The purpose of an EAW is to determine if an in-depth Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is needed. An EIS fully considers the impacts and analyzes how the project can be built in a way that mitigates potential environmental harm. This includes fully considering the karst geology, impacts on property value, water availability and cumulative impacts. (For example, this farrowing operation will require nursery and finishing barns. What will be their impact?) The law requires that if the project has the potential for significant environmental impacts, then there must be an EIS. This decision is ultimately made by Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Commissioner John Linc Stine.
This site is located in a karst area that is rich with sinkholes, springs and creeks. It is also near a trout stream. Dr. Calvin Alexander, a professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota and a nationally renowned karst geology expert, did a search of the area and discovered three additional sinkholes and 11 potential sinkholes that were missed in the EAW. As permission was being sought from the landowner for Dr. Alexander to walk the site and verify sinkholes, the proposer put this research off until Wednesday, May 30, the very day public EAW comments were initially due, making it impossible for this important information to be fully included in the comments.
ACT NOW. Submit your comments calling for an Environmental Impact Statement on the Catalpa, LLC factory hog farm by Tuesday, July 3, 2018 at 4:30 p.m.
Here is a link to the Environmental Assessment Worksheet that was submitted: Catalpa, LLC - EAW (p-ear2-144a).
Calvin Alexander is a familiar name to us, a hydrologist with an unshakeable bedrock integrity. We're looking into the proposed hog farm and will post more over the weekend. Additional coverage of the meeting is found at KAAL-TV in Hundreds Gather for Proposed Hog Farm Meeting in Fillmore County and KTTC-TV's Fillmore County residents protest against proposed hog feedlot.
This isn't the first time rural people living in areas marked by karst geology have raised questions about proposed hog farm run by the group. In 2013, the Decorah Newspapers reported in Board will appeal DNR's approval of hog confinement to the EPC:
Although the permit application for the expansion has met the DNR's requirements, [Winneshiek County Board] Supervisor Dean Thompson said the Board has the right to appeal when it believes the karst terrain, or fractured limestone topography, and trout streams in the vicinity of the project could be impacted.
Last month, the supervisors voted unanimously to recommend the DNR deny the permit, but last week the DNR approved it.
In 2017, the Gazette explored the issue of karst and hog farms in Trouble with hogs in northeast Iowa. The Des Moines Register examined the terrain in Iowans want stronger rules, more local control over animal confinements, groups say.
Photo: One of the Waukon Feed Ranch's operation under construction in 2014 near Ladysmith, Wisconsin. The Waukon Standard explained the Waukon Feed Ranch/Holden Farms model in 2013's October is Pork Month: Waukon Feed Ranch manages enough pork to feed 1.3 million people. We're guessing it's more than that these days.
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.
Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email [email protected] as recipient.
Comments