On March 4, Prairie Rivers Network attended a public informational meeting on a proposed hog operation called D&B Farms. The operation would house almost 5,000 hogs in a single building in rural Adams County, which borders the Mississippi River. At the hearing, we raised our concerns that the 8-foot deep waste storage pit underneath the building might leak and contaminate nearby wells.

Road that borders the proposed hog operation in Adams County near Lima.

We also requested that when the waste is land-applied as fertilizer, that it be injected and not merely applied to the surface where it could easily run off into nearby streams and ditches. As indicated by the picture to the right, the proposed construction site is in a hilly area.

Before the public meeting, we provided concerned neighbors with information about environmental regulations and helped them prepare questions and comments. We worked with these neighbors and Illinois Citizens for Clean Air & Water to put on a press conference immediately before the meeting. The intent of the press conference was to make public our concerns about the environmental and community impacts of large-scale hog operations. Fortunately, several members of the press attended.

Our press conference was also attended by members of the Illinois Livestock Development Group. They stood just a few feet from us as we read our statements, and one of the men unabashedly held out a tape recorder. These men regularly attend our press conferences on proposed livestock operations.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture is currently evaluating whether the proposed operation meets the siting requirements of the Livestock Management Facilities Act. If construction is approved, some neighbors fear there will be bad odors, polluted runoff, and lower property values. Indeed, one of the neighbors lives less than a half mile from the proposed hog operation and is devastated by how his life might change.

The three awesome attorneys representing the Environmental Groups at one of the rulemaking hearings.

Prairie Rivers Network recently filed our final comments on the proposed state factory farm rule. This rule will regulate water pollution from large livestock operations. If the Illinois Pollution Control Board (IPCB) adopts our recommendations, the rule could significantly reduce the negative impacts of livestock operations on Illinois streams.

Illinois has many streams that are impaired due to bad land application practices and sloppy management of waste storage structures. For example, some livestock operators spread waste on top of frozen or snow-covered ground, but the manure can move off a sloped field and into nearby ditches or streams when the weather warms. Improving the state’s regulations is one way we are trying to make Illinois streams safe for everyone. We don’t want you to ever have to worry about what’s in the water.

We have been involved in this rulemaking since 2009, when we began participating as a stakeholder in meetings to discuss livestock waste management practices. The Illinois EPA convened this stakeholder workgroup, which consisted of environmental groups, livestock associations, and government agencies. The Illinois EPA considered the recommendations of the workgroup and submitted a proposed rule to the IPCB in March 2012. {Continue Reading »}

November 16 UPDATE:

Prairie Rivers Network just wrapped up an intense schedule of hearings on IEPA’s proposed rule for livestock operations factory farms. Overall, the hearings went well and we were able to convey that livestock operations should be more stringently regulated because of negative impacts on Illinois streams and rural residents. Our priorities for rule changes include: establishment of a livestock operation siting setback from surface waters, a cap on waste application rates to fields in winter, mandatory registration of all large CAFOs (factory farms) with IEPA, and improved regulation of waste transfers. We have until January 16 to submit our final comments on the rule, and the Board will consider our comments before issuing a final rule hopefully sometime in 2013. Finally, we want to thank our two experts for testifying, and all the concerned residents who came to the hearings to share their stories with the Board.

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October 19th post:

Help the State of Illinois revise their laws to keep our water safe from livestock waste. Tell your story or make a comment sharing your concerns.

The State of Illinois is in the middle of revising the regulation of factory farms. In particular, the livestock regulations are being updated so that they are consistent with federal requirements associated with the Clean Water Act. The Illinois Pollution Control Board is now seeking public comment on the draft regulations at three upcoming hearings in Urbana, DeKalb, and Elizabeth.

If you have been personally, negatively affected by a poorly managed livestock operation, your story is an important one that should be told during this public comment process. Even if you have not been directly affected, please consider making a public comment on any concerns you have about factory farms that relate to water pollution.

Prairie Rivers Network will be participating in the hearings. The main improvements we are seeking in the regulations include:

1. Requirement for all large livestock operations to register with the Illinois EPA
2. Creation of a livestock operation siting setback from streams and lakes
3. A larger setback between pristine streams and agricultural fields where livestock waste is applied
4. More restrictions on land application of waste in winter.

If these four improvements are adopted, we would expect to see fewer incidences of fish kills from misapplied waste and downstream contamination from leaking manure ponds.

The public hearings will be held at the following locations. The hearings should start with a public comment period, and the Board will likely be limiting each comment to 2-5 minutes. We recommend that you write your comment in advance and read it to the Board, so that you say everything you meant to in an organized fashion. Also, please call Stacy at the Prairie Rivers Network office (217.344.2371) if you plan to attend the hearings. We hope to hear from you!

If you can’t make the hearings but have a story to tell, please contact us via email, Facebook, or Twitter.

10AM Tuesday October 23
Brookens Administrative Center
Lyle Shields Meeting Room
1776 E. Washington
Urbana, IL

10AM Tuesday October 30
DeKalb Municipal Building
City Council Chambers, Room 200
200 S. 4th Street
DeKalb, IL

10AM Wednesday November 14
Highland Community College (West Campus)
Conference Room 129
300 N. West Street
Elizabeth, IL

Stacy James, Water Resources Specialist at Prairie Rivers Network, was quoted in this Associated Press article about the various controversies surrounding factory farms or CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations).

The article ran in both LancasterFarming.com (PDF) and the News-Gazette (PDF).

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Scott Schauble, who owns a farm bordering the Lamoine River, came home one day to find water lines running across his driveway. These lines were being used to draw water from the river to replenish the water reserves of a neighboring hog factory farm.

Schauble had recently been approached by his neighbor who offered him money, hunting rights and even a pig for slaughter if  he would allow the factory farm to draw water through his property. Schauble refused.

Professional Swine Management, who runs the hog facility, maintains that the water lines across Schauble’s driveway were not on his property, but on the right of way, and that the township’s roads commissioner had given permission to run the temporary lines.

The lines have since been removed, and according to its management, the factory farm, or CAFO as they are also called (Confined Animal Feeding Operation), will move forward using other contingencies to replenish its water reserves, but didn’t say how they planned to do so.

While other states have amended their water use law via statute, the state of Illinois continues to rely on riparian law principles. Robert Hirschfeld, Water Policy Specialist with Prairie Rivers Network, explains that a riparian land owner (someone who owns property along a river) does not own the water, but has the right to use that water on their land. In this case, it seems that the facility would not have been legally able to draw water from the river, even with permission from a riparian land owner, who can use the water, but not sell or transport it off their property.

{Continue Reading »}

Update August 9, 2012: According to this Daily Journal story (pdf), “The Illinois EPA today asked Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office to take enforcement action against Hopkins Ridge Farms and others in connection with the fish kill in late July along 10 miles of Beaver Creek in northeastern Iroquois County.”

“Hopkins Ridge is a 2,500-hog confinement operation near the Indiana state line, four miles east of Beaverville. Acting IEPA chief John Kim asked that action be taken to halt further irrigation with livestock waste contaminated water — ‘the possible cause of the extensive fish kill.’”

Access a pdf of the full article here.

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Beaver Creek turned brown on July 25, 2012, and an estimated 63,000 fish died in approximately 10 stream miles. The creek is located in Iroquois County near the Indiana border, in an agricultural area. Local press have reported that the brown color is due to illegally dumped liquid hog waste, but there is still no official statement from the Illinois EPA identifying the culprit.

According to one article, locals consider the event “sickening,” and the polluted, smelly water may be around for a while given the drought conditions. Wildlife that depend on the creek may be affected for weeks to come, and need to seek other sources of clean water.

The stream at the bottom of the picture is Hooper Branch, a tributary of Beaver Creek

Prairie Rivers Network used Google Earth to survey upstream of the fish kill, and located a large factory farm (pictured at right). Animal waste appears to be stored in a large pond or lagoon on the property. Such waste is usually applied on nearby farmland. We are very concerned that the irrigation tracks on the neighboring field indicate the farm may be spraying waste very close to the creek. We therefore notified Illinois EPA, the Illinois Department of Agriculture, and the Illinois Attorney General’s office about our concerns. Even if this particular farm is not the guilty party in the fish kill, we felt it was important to point out that the farm may be land-applying waste too close to the creek.

We will continue to follow this story, and report back to you when we know more.