Governor Colyer, Please Veto SB 405

These are my arguments against SB405. LEAVE COMMENTS that say WHY you oppose SB405 and politely ask that Governor Colyer VETO SB405. Your comments will be delivered by email to him the minute you Sign this Petition. Below are some of the facts you might use:

The fundamental effect of this legislation is upon separation distances from these mega chicken barns, allowing up to a third of a million (333,333) chickens just one-quarter mile (1320ft) away from a home or business or only 100 foot away from a neighbor’s property line.

By changing the animal conversion unit ratio to .003, SB 405 dramatically weakens the setback requirements and could bring millions of chickens and their thousands of tons of stinky manure to close proximity to countless Kansas communities. These massive, 500 to 600 feet long, 20,000 square foot chicken barns continually exhaust ammonia, odor, and bacteria-laden manure dust out of their barns, exposing those neighbors downwind to a strong stench as well as health-harming particles and gases.

How close should these large poultry farms be to neighbors? We think that SB 405’s ACU formula is too low for a healthy distance setback. A GREATER formula would mean LESS DENSITY of chickens for the quarter-mile separation.

Animal Conversion Unit formulas were originally intended to compare different animals in relation to their waste impact risk to water pollution. Because the impact of poultry production is a greater risk to water pollution, the ACU for chicken needs to be much higher than the .003 proposal.

The proposed .003 ACU formula is based upon the animal’s weight, rather than its potential impact on water pollution, which is the original basis for the ACU formula and required separation distances. However, the impact of the animal goes further than its weight. Kansas State University research shows chickens produce more manure than beef finishing cows and the manure is much richer. Chicken manure contains twice as much Nitrogen and four times as much Phosphorus compared to beef finishers, and as such is a bigger risk of polluting nearby water bodies with the vast land-spreading of this waste.

Thus, because of the nitrogen and phosphorus loads and massive amount of manure that will need to be spread around these chicken barns, the ACU formula should be increased to .008, like it is in Georgia (the number one poultry-producing U.S. state) Missouri, and Wisconsin. Even federal regulators use the .008 ratio, and KDHE currently relies on the .008 standard.

Did you know that Kansas does not allow counties to have zoning requirements for agricultural use, meaning that current law provides local residents no way to challenge these mega-chicken farms from coming to their area? SB 405 needs an amendment for home rule, where county residents have the right to file petitions against industrial-agricultural chicken barns and have a county-wide vote. Without an opportunity to challenge these operations locally, SB 405 enables these mega chicken farms to infringe on the property rights and quality of life of surrounding neighbors and communities. Some counties may decide they want a large poultry slaughterhouse and these mega chicken barns. We respect the right of counties to choose whether they want this type of agribusiness or whether they DO NOT want this type of business, but the point is, the counties and their residents should be able to make that choice for themselves.

Counties and local residents should be able to decide whether or NOT they want a large poultry slaughterhouse and these mega chicken barns.

Without an amendment to provide for a local option for counties to decide whether they want this type of agribusiness in their district or a greater ACU formula like .008, we encourage you to VETO SB 405 because of its impact to air and water quality, public health, and the quality of life for residents and communities nearby.