We are asking the Bayfield County Board of Supervisors to pass a 2 year moratorium on CAFO sitings until the numerous and well-documented threats to public health and safety can be assessed. We are asking for this moratorium based on ATCP 51.34:
(2) Denying an application. A political subdivision may deny an application under s. ATCP 51.30 if any of the following apply:
(b) The political subdivision finds, based on other clear and convincing information in the record under s. ATCP 51.36, that the proposed livestock facility fails to comply with an applicable standard under subch. II.
Why is this important?
Dale Reicks, a factory hog producer from Iowa, has applied for a preliminary application for a permit to operate a CAFO with 26,000 hogs in the Fish Creek Watershed, less than 8 miles upstream from Lake Superior. The Ashland Municipal Water Utility is 3 nautical miles from the junction of Fish Creek and Lake Superior.
Given the soil type, quantity of manure the Reicks CAFO will produce and the self-regulatory nature of the CAFO industry, it's likely that Fish Creek and the Chequamegon Bay will see increased nutrients, pathogens and agricultural run-off in the water. The threats to public health and welfare that CAFOs pose to communities are numerous (antibiotic resistant bacteria, pathogens in the manure, and disease such as asthma, decreased lung function, and cardiovascular ailments) but the potential threat to city with 8,000 residents water supply requires caution.
A 2 year moratorium will allow Bayfield County the time it needs to research and develop regulations that will protect and preserve our environment and communities.
