Story originally printed in the Winona Daily News or online at www.winonadailynews.com

Published - Monday, June 06, 2005

Guest view: There goes the neighborhood

By Dale Sommers / Lewiston, Minn.

Did you know that you and I are protected against the adverse effects of extremely large, concentrated livestock feeding operations? Yes, Winona County Ordinance 505.1 directs the county's commissioners, when they are deciding whether to grant the conditional-use permit (necessary to build such a large operation) to consider "the effect of the proposed use upon the health, safety and general welfare of occupants of surrounding lands."

The Winona County commissioners will face such a decision June 7: whether to grant a conditional-use permit for a 2,100-hog enclosed feeding operation that would produce hundreds of thousands of gallons of liquid manure every year. Let's be clear. The commissioners have the authority — and the duty — to deny this permit if it poses a risk to our health, safety and general welfare. Once we explore some of the biggest risks, it will become clear that the commissioners must reject the permit application.

Fragile geology and water purity

Possibly the biggest concern for all of us in the county, insofar as this topic is concerned, is the threat to the purity of our water. Our drinking water and streams in Winona County are easily contaminated because of the fragile and vulnerable fractured limestone beneath the surface. It is certainly not the place for a 720,000-gallon manure pit. "Manure excess is a public health issue. Excess nitrogen in drinking water, and the pathogens contained in manure, can cause severe gastrointestinal disease and complications, and even death (American Journal of Public Health, October 2004)." Wells just a mile south of the proposed site, in the Arches area of the Garvin Brook watershed, were contaminated in 1998 with fecal coliform bacteria. A huge amount of time and money was spent some years back to clean up Garvin Brook. Are we willing to put that at risk again with chancy setups like this?

Property values at risk

Also of concern are the gases that would be created. Much more than simply an "unpleasant odor," these gases include complex mix of dust particles, bacteria, endotoxins, hydrogen sulfide and ammonia that would settle in and around the houses in the neighborhood, especially on humid summer days. Folks who live near other such operations talk about the all-pervasive, biting stench that one cannot escape, even indoors. "So strong you can taste it," is how one put it. My daughter suffers from asthma, and our family physician has testified to the fact that "it would be ill-advised to have the additional trigger of a feed lot for 2,100 pigs so close to [our] home."

Another function of the ordinance is to protect home values. It mandates that "the use will be sufficiently compatible or separated by distance ... so that existing properties will not be depreciated in value." Yet a public official told us, with a straight face, that the value of houses next to huge industrial feeding operations like this actually rise in value.

I find this statement to be incredible. It is difficult to see how a potential buyer, standing in my driveway and looking out at a huge hog feedlot a few hundred yards away, would want to pay a premium for the location.

Monitoring

To make a bad situation worse, the county lacks adequate monitoring for these large feedlots. Our county's feedlot officer is supposed to monitor them and ensure the safety of the air and water. But he admitted at the May 19 public hearing that he does no soil testing in order to monitor how evenly these hundreds of thousands of gallons of manure are spread on the fields, as is required. He depends solely on self-reporting by the feedlot operator. We are therefore left with vague promises. That the feedlot operator will spread the manure evenly and never on frozen ground so it doesn't run off into our streams. That his 720,000-gallon manure pit is strong enough and will never have a leakage problem that would pose a risk to groundwater. That we'll barely smell a thing. Can we feel confident in these promises? A former president once said, "Trust — but verify." I think the same applies here.

If this permit is granted, many others may follow. The effect of all these could be cumulative, with adverse consequences for Winona County's water supply and quality of life.

My family has lived in our home for 23 years, the same home that would end up 1,600 feet downwind from this facility. I am known as a quiet, private person, and frankly, being in the public eye like this has been difficult. But I am compelled to speak out — for my family and for all of us who enjoy our quality of life in Winona County.

Guest views are opinions of the author and don't necessarily reflect the views of the Winona Daily News. They are published to stimulate thought and to provide an expanded forum on issues of local interest.