How Is This Still A Thing?

[Mike Clifford]

Fish kills all around us, yet this is still business as usual in Illinois? Remember the dairy farm in the Apple River watershed? We killed that one together. There is no CAFO there and never will be.

That was a long time ago, and not a thing has changed!! Pay particular attention to the last sentence in the quote below. It infuriates me that not one group....no, not one PERSON has stepped up to the plate to slay this dragon. Of all the conservation and environmental groups in the state, I was the only one to call the dragon master himself that brings every CAFO into the state on the Jo Daviess farm plan. He's one man. It isn't rocket science.

I bet we can find one man to step to the plate here and take a swing. Is it you?

http://thecommunityword.com/online/blog/2019/07/31/illinois-has-open-door-for-cafos/

"This form of raising animals is given preferential treatment by the state. CAFOs can be approved over local objections. Local county boards have control over wind turbines, solar farms, landfills and zoning decisions, but there is no local control over placement or size of a CAFO.

Danielle Diamond, director of field operations with the not-for-profit Socially Responsible Agriculture Project, said all of the surrounding states around Illinois have more regulatory authority over CAFOs. Illinois is the most lax and permissive in the region, she said.

The Marshall County Board voted against approval of Buffalo Run but that does not tie the hands of the Illinois Department of Agriculture that’s expected to approve Buffalo Run.

Allen Mayer, an attorney and former member of the Peoria County Board, said the system in Springfield takes control of CAFOs away from local jurisdictions and places it with the Illinois Department of Agriculture that rarely, if ever, rejects an application."

[Jonn Graham]

This is the second in marshall county.  I live in marshall county.  I went to a public meeting about the first one.  First one located along a smallie stream.   Tons of people showed up and packed a local gymnasium and voiced their displeasure.  Some got up to the mic and really let the hog people and ag department have it.  The local board voted it down and the ag department approved it.  Total BS.

 

But my question is this......................................what can we do if we voice our displeasure and the county board votes it down, but it gets approved anyways.?

[Mike Clifford]

Jonn......

In the case of Jo Daviess, the local board was at like 7-4 in favor. I wrote them a nice letter full of tourism stats and gushy stuff. They flipped to almost unanimous against it. Funny thing I came to learn was that Ag was about to rubber stamp it through regardless. We got the state's attorney general and EPA involved. What happened here was that they allowed nasty things to leach into the watershed before actual construction even got underway. Not a very pleasant greeting to your neighbors.

I learned from the very best in conservation to always follow the money trail, and start there. Then let your imagination run wild.

 

[Mike Clifford]

The dragon master himself puts on a show, as if there is a conglomerate of groups that make up the "ILDG". Truth is, it's one guy in an office with a telephone and a laptop. We spoke several times. Click on the photo for the legible version....

[Bart Durham]

Hopefully the new Agricultural Department Administration will be more receptive to the desires of the community.  It sounds like the only recourse may be the voting booth, and letting governmental officials in charge know how you feel about the Agricultural department not listening to the constituents.  

[Mike Clifford]

26 minutes ago, Bart Durham said:

Hopefully the new Agricultural Department Administration will be more receptive to the desires of the community.  It sounds like the only recourse may be the voting booth, and letting governmental officials in charge know how you feel about the Agricultural department not listening to the constituents.  

Nothing has changed even while political parties flip-flopped several times over many decades. Looking at every other state in the union and seeing how it does or doesn't work out for them would be a great place to start. Study our forefathers of conservation. Put those ideas to work in a world that can mobilize people within seconds, what with social media going ballistic already. It's not easy. Conservation takes incredible determination. What kills me is that people are paid to solve these problems.  The people pulling the strings on these CAFOS can't buy off everybody to look away.....

Keep in mind as well that you can't just make a more stringent rule regarding protections, while also cutting the IEPA budget. If the rules are too financially cumbersome, they won't be enforced regardless. If the new rule even makes it past the discussion phase.