Huge livestock farms still threaten water, air, rural life

Bill Knight column for 8-16, 17 or 18, 2021

 Water is arguably the state’s most precious natural resource, between the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, countless lakes and ponds, and underground aquifers – those bodies of porous rock or sediment saturated with groundwater that seeps through the soil and resurfaces through springs and wells.

Now, in an area known for roadside stands selling locally grown produce, the sandy, fertile terrain of Mason County faces a planned 2,480-hog operation between Havana and Kilbourne, a half mile from the village of Peterville.

Such large-scale industrial livestock productions (generally called CAFOs, for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) are causing campaigns to stop them and to fix Illinois’ Livestock Management Facilities Act, which critics say fails to protect the health and quality of life of rural communities.

The state Agriculture Department already has tentatively approved the Mason project, and an assessment from the Farm Service Administration (because the applicant seeks federal funds) tentatively OK’d it, although its draft seems lax, suggesting it’s exempt from provisions of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Farmland Protection Act and other statutes, adding that the CAFO ‘will not cause any adverse human health or environmental effects.”

A 2008 study by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production outlined considerable public health, environmental, animal welfare and rural livelihood consequences, and the Illinois Pollution Control Board in 2003 reported, “Nearly 40 percent of the nation's assessed waters show impairments from a wide range of sources. Improper management of manure from CAFOs is among the many contributors.”

            (Full disclosure: I’m not neutral on the issue, as I testified in the Capitol decades ago, summarizing dangers as “S.W.I.N.E.” – the Smell, Water contamination, Indemnification letting polluters escape responsibility, Nutrient overloading from spreading enormous amounts of manure, and Enforcement of weak laws by under-resourced agencies.)

Heart of Illinois Sierra Club Conservation co-chair Joyce Blumenshine expresses alarm.

“The Mahomet Aquifer underlies this area and is unconfined, meaning the aquifer is not far below the surface and is overlain by soils that easily and quickly allow surface water to reach the aquifer.”

Another environmental assessment is needed, she adds: “a full biological and site area ground assessment to evaluate the long-term impacts.”

Others see the aquifer as crucial, but also note flaws in the application, proximity to populated areas, and effects on local infrastructure and property values.

“We do not envision a 2,400-head hog confinement enhancing future positive development in Mason County,” Kay Curtis of Kilbourne told the Mason County Board. “We respect raising livestock but not this model of intensive production that has degraded rural communities and water resources across the country.”

Again, most critical is the Mahomet Aquifer, which according to the state’s own 2018 report, recommends a plan to maintain its groundwater quality, identify potential contamination threats to its water quality, and determine actions that might be taken to ensure its long-term protection.

Randy Burgett, who lives near the site, said, “There is water here in ditches 99% of the time,” adding that some of the area is so marshy “cattle won’t even walk [there].”

The local Mason County Concerned Citizens and the statewide Illinois Coalition for Clean Air & Water (ICCWA) vow to oppose such projects, and to monitor water as they lobby for regulations that balance needs of livestock producers and residents. Elected representatives, both federal (since federal funds are involved) and state (where lawmakers’ districts are affected), may be contacted.

It’s a statewide problem; Fulton and Warren Counties face similar controversies. In Fulton, two 2,480-head CAFOs are proposed to be sited adjacently, under different names, to exploit a loophole that says operations with fewer than 5,000 head need no public hearings. Also, activists say the operator’s existing   Warren site, built in 2015, apparently has had no required septic system.

When the laws are inadequate, citizens become desperate, or despair. Other states have better laws, but Illinoisans and county officials struggle to be heard.

“Winnebago County recently passed resolutions at the local level against two CAFOs and have stalled them,” said ICCAW’s Karen Hudson.

Illinois needs seven reforms, according to Danielle Diamond of the Socially Responsible Agriculture Project:

* Require CAFOs to register with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA);

* make CAFOs get permits from the IEPA;

* close the “expansion” loophole letting operations more than double their size every two years without public hearings;

* empower county boards to issue binding recommendations to the state Department of Ag;

* grant legal standing for the public to demand open hearings on applications;

* create reasonable setbacks from surface waters, homes and towns; and

* make applicants submit complete waste-management plans for public review and for state approval before construction approvals.

 

Failing such changes, the Land of Lincoln will increasingly be known as the “Land of Stinkin’.