Area Plan Commission Considers St. Joseph Co. CAFO Rules
Posted
Daniel Riordan-driordan@timesuniononline.com
The issue of Confined Animal Feeding Operations was once again the main topic of discussion at Wednesday’s Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission meeting.
For several months, the plan commission has been looking at whether or not to enact ordinances that go above and beyond the regulations set forth by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
IDEM is charged with enforcing regulations regarding CAFOs.
At the plan commission’s October meeting, board members attended an informational session at Creighton Brothers, west of Warsaw.
At that meeting, Creighton Brothers President Ron Truex, who is also a Kosciusko County commissioner, and other employees of Creighton Brothers gave a lengthy presentation on the process of becoming a CAFO and the amount of regulation involved with it.
At Wednesday’s meeting, the plan commission heard from several members of the public who expressed concern over potential problems that could come with CAFOs.
Wednesday’s meeting wasn’t advertised as a public meeting to discuss CAFOs so no action could be taken by the plan commission.
Also, comments from the public were limited to five minutes.
Clifford Zehr, president of Kerlin Bus Sales in Silver Lake, said he was worried about odor and air quality.
One of several CAFOs in the permitting process is in Silver Lake.
Zehr told the board that his company has to follow air quality requirements and that smells are absorbed in the buses.
Zehr said his business is 1,500 feet from the proposed Silver Lake CAFO.
Later in the meeting, the plan commission was given regulations other nearby counties have adopted.
Commission member and County Commissioner Bob Conley noted that those other counties’ regulations allowed residences, schools and businesses to be within 1,320 feet of CAFOs, 180 feet closer than Kerlin is from the proposed CAFO.
Zehr said his company employs 25 people and as many as 30 at times.
“Who is going to protect me as a business owner?” said Zehr.
IDEM regulations have no enforcement of odors.
“That’s why we’re here today,” said plan commission president Chuck Haffner. “We are charged with protecting residential, agricultural and commercial districts.”
Claypool resident Marjorie Vance addressed the plan commission and said she had a concern with impartiality on the plan commission.
Vance said a woman in the plan commission office told her that CAFOs were good for Kosciusko County.
Vance also noted that Kevin McSherry works for Creighton Brothers and operates a CAFO.
“I’m seeing people on here who can’t possibly be impartial,” said Vance.
Vance also likened IDEM’s regulation of CAFOs to her writing a report card for herself.
“I’m not a farmer, (Dr. Lee Harman) is not a farmer,” said Haffner. “We all have our own personal interests. We’re going to keep everything in perspective. And the board members will be impartial.”
Chuck Brinkman from Tippecanoe Watershed Foundation also spoke before the board.
Brinkman said he had concerns about how CAFOs would affect water in the county. He also told the board his group would work with the plan commission in the future on this matter.
Brinkman said he didn’t have a lot of confidence in IDEM’s ability to regulate.
When asked specifically what made him feel that way, Brinkman pointed to non-specific issues in Randolph County.
Brinkman said he would provide more comprehensive information on issues.
Plan commission member Jim Moyer, also a county councilman, said he was only interested on issues and violations that affected Kosciusko County.
Moyer said he was hesitant to adopt stricter regulations based on other counties without knowing how those counties reached their decisions.
Mark Vance also spoke before the plan commission and gave them a copy of a letter sent from IDEM concerning the proposed Silver Lake CAFO.
Vance said CAFOs can tell IDEM how they’ll spread manure but that they don’t have to do it that way.
Julia Vaughn from Citizens Action Coalition out of Indianapolis also spoke before the board.
Vaughn said her group’s interest was to help “local government execute local control.”
Vaughn said that issues in Randolph County led to a fish kill down there.
Vaughn said she was pleased with St. Joseph County’s regulations regarding CAFOs.
The board said it wanted to discuss other counties’ regulations in further detail.
Area Plan Director Dan Richard also said it would be a good idea to talk with representatives from St. Joseph County to see how those regulations have affected agriculture in their county.
It also was noted that any regulations adopted by the plan commission wouldn’t have any affect on current CAFOs or CAFOs that are in the permitting process.
The only other matter the plan commission discussed Wednesday afternoon was a road vacation request in the Roy Hohman subdivision.
The subdivision is located on the north side of Yellow Creek Lake.
Homes in the subdivision have been in the process of vacating a portion of undeveloped roadway.
The plan commission approved vacating the undeveloped road between lots 9 and 15 Wednesday afternoon.
The final decision will be made by the Kosciusko County Commissioners. The request, with the plan commission’s favorable recommendation, will appear before the commissioners Nov. 22 at 9:15 a.m.
