Ecocide on Clay County Commission agenda

The end of environmental protection for Clay County is on the commission's agenda. Proposals include:

• Raising the dairy confinement limit from 3,500 cows to 5,600 cows, a 62.5 percent increase;
• Allowing some CAFOs with up to 1,000 cattle or 2,500 hogs without a state Water Pollution Control Permit;
• Dropping the County Conditional Use Permit for Feeding Operations up to 300 cattle or 750 hogs;
• Eliminating or reducing setbacks from manure storage to public roads, private wells and currently protected "Waters of the State," including streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, and springs;
• Potentially allowing up to 1,000 cattle or 2,500 hogs over currently protected Aquifer Protection Zone B;
• Allowing confinement of up to 300 cattle or 750 hogs in the currently protected Natural Resource Conservation District;
• Allowing Small CAFOs to more than triple in size without increasing setback requirements in place when the Small CAFO was permitted, thus allowing up to 1,000 cattle or 2,500 hogs to be confined a quarter mile from an existing residence;
• Reducing the Small CAFO setback from Wakonda and Irene from 1 mile to a quarter mile;
• Dropping manure application setbacks from streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, wells and springs;
• Dropping required Nutrient Management Plan (manure disposal) before issuance of a County Permit; and,
• Dropping required State Water Pollution Control Permit before issuance of a County Permit.
• A 200 foot statue of Bill Janklow holding a handgun overlooking Lewis and Clark Lake

Okay, that last item is made up.

Read it all here.