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HF 873: Air
and Water Quality State Standards for
Confined Animal
Feeding Operations
Currently, there is NO legislation in the Iowa
General Assembly that would grant real local
control to counties to protect their communities
and the environment from the threats of Confined
Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). However,
House File 873 by Representative Mark Kuhn and
Representative Marcie Frevert passed out of the
House Environmental Protection Committee and it
would improve state-level air and water quality
standards for CAFOs.
Highlights:
Provides a More Thorough Evaluation of Permit
Applications through the Master Matrix
ü
Requires all
counties to evaluate permit applications using the
Master Matrix
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Counties may assess
a $100 permit application fee to offset their
costs
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Requires counties to
hold a public hearing to receive comments for
submission to DNR
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Gives counties 60
days to evaluate applications, instead of the
current 30 days, and also gives DNR 90 days
instead of 60 days to do their evaluation
Increases the Setback Distance for a new CAFO
from Places Important to Iowans such as
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Residences
ü
Designated Wetlands:
city, county, state, and federal designated
wetlands
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Tourism Destinations
ü
Cities
ü
Streams, rivers, and
lakes
Improves Manure Management Practices
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Requires manure to
be applied farther away from waterways
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Bans spreading
manure on frozen ground or snow
Brings More CAFOs to follow Better Standards
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Lowers the permit
threshold # of animals for master matrix
applications, requiring more CAFOs to meet better
standards through the master matrix
HOUSE FILE 873 IS NOT LOCAL CONTROL AND IS ALREADY
WEAK IN MANY ASPECTS, YET PASSING IT WOULD SHOW A
COMMITMENT TO THE ENVIRONMENT AND RIGHTS OF
COMMUNITIES. Iowa Network for Local Control asks
for your support to keep the bill in its current
form, VOTE YES on HF873, and know you did the
right thing.
Contact Carlos Jayne, INLC lobbyist at
991-5381 or email revcjayne@mchsi.com |
