Foster County Planning & Zoning Board

~Citizens against the Mega-Dairy LOCATION ~

Join Us, and Prevent the STINK!

NOTICE:  Our concerned citizens meeting took place at the Armory in Carrington on February 12, 2008,  with approximately 40 people attending.  The main concerns addressed were: the location of the Mega-dairy and its closeness to Carrington and the Carrington aquifer... the possibility of it contaminating our ground water; the fact that we need stricter county regulations regarding large CAFO's (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations such as this Mega-dairy) that want to come to our area; that much of the planning for this proposed Mega-dairy in Carrington was done by some community leaders without notifying the general public. 

Read about a recent manure spill from a mega-dairy lagoon in Maryland.  Do we want to take a chance that something like this could happen to Carrington?

Manure spill could mean months of temporary water supply
Originally published

January 30, 2008
By Gina Gallucci - Frederick News-Post Staff - Maryland

WALKERSVILLE -- For town residents who remember the 1999 sewage spill that forced them to use a makeshift water supply for five months, this could be worse. Test results this week from untreated water show the levels of bacteria and E. coli are greater than in 1999, said Mike Marschner, director of the county's Division of Utilities and Solid Waste Management.

The contamination is the result of a manure lagoon pipe that burst last week, said town commissioner Chad Weddle. The burst actually created two spills, one on Jan. 22 and a second Friday night into Saturday morning.

This spill took about four days to infiltrate the town's water supply, compared to 1999 when it took nine days, Marschner said.

These findings were released during a press conference Tuesday afternoon at Town Hall. The meeting room was packed with media, town and county officials and concerned residents.

More...

Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008
Farmer apologizes for massive manure spill

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"One fear is that what happened in Walkerton, Canada, could happen in our community. In the small Ontario town, which is the site of several dairy farms, seven people died and 2,300 became ill  ...  after drinking water polluted with E. coli, a bacteria contained in cow manure. Cow manure washed into a nearby well after a heavy rain, causing the health crisis, says Peter Rehak, spokesperson for the Walkerton Inquiry, a public commission established to investigate the tragedy."

-Metro Times - Detroit-

Planning and Zoning Board Meeting on Tuesday, February 26, 2008

The Foster County courtroom was filled to capacity with standing room only and people flowing out into two hallways, estimated to be 200-300 by the time the meeting ended.

The front row was filled with experts from the state, dairy interests, a paid engineer, Mrs. Van Bedaf, and Tom Erdmann, whose employer (Farm Credit) apparently holds the loans on the proposed property site in question.  As far as I could tell, he was the only Foster County resident who spoke up for the mega-dairy being placed in the proposed location.

The proponents of the mega-dairy's location spoke for approximately two hours, using a projector, slides, charts, expert testimony, etc.

It "seemed" like the proponents of the mega-dairy were going to go on forever, leaving no time for their opponents to speak. (Interesting to note: the time issue wasn't brought up by a board member until opponents of the mega-dairy location started speaking.  Then time suddenly became very important.)

But, the Carrington crowd was tough... Although standing for two hours was a drag, they were there to hear both sides of the issue.

When local citizens started speaking, the whole atmosphere of the room seemed to change. People listened closely to family members from homes near the proposed dairy location... telling how the dairy would affect their lives negatively.   They expressed their concerns for the value of their new and/or remodeled homes, their concerns for family members with respiratory problems, their worries that their well water would no longer be usable, their frustration that all this government planning had taken place "behind their backs..."

Experts and concerned citizens presented documentation and testimonies to the board which refuted supposed facts given by mega-dairy proponents.

David Timm suggested that Foster County could have more stringent regulations than the state, like other counties had put in place, such as large CAFO's being kept a further distance from towns and cities.  Also, he felt that any large CAFO should put up a bond to take care of any wear and tear on the roads, accidental manure spills, and water contamination clean-up.  That would show responsibility on their part. 

When Barb Price of the Dakota Resource Council spoke, she was constantly badgered and treated rudely by Mayor Frye. One of the issues that Ms. Price touched on was the negative social impact that mega-dairies/CAFO's have had in virtually every spot that they have been created in North Dakota. At that point Mayor Frye started a very unintelligible line of questions and remarks which consisted of mainly asking... has this dairy (the Van Bedaf's) done any of these things at this location that were done at these other CAFO locations.  Ms. Price attempted to explain several times... how could they have done those things when their operation doesn't exist here yet. One of the things that she brought up that Mayor Frye latched onto (as an issue to repudiate) is that CAFO's/Mega-dairies rarely - if ever- provide health insurance for their workers. And, the lack of health insurance equates to a strain on the community health system and the tax payers who have to foot the bill. Ms. Price, at that point, gave up on trying to reason with Mayor Frye and his unintelligible and belligerent line of questioning.

At that time Ted Keller took the floor and pointed out to the board that in two previous conversations with the Van Bedafs, he had asked if they were going to provide health insurance for their employees... but they had refused to respond yes or no. Mayor Frye made it quite clear that he didn't want Mrs. Van Bedaf to answer the question either, and refused to pose the question to her. (Interesting note: during the proponents' presentation, he allowed lots of extra questioning for their expert speakers.)

When challenged by Ted Keller, asking why he didn't want her to answer the question, Mayor Frye continued to refuse to allow an answer... until members of the audience got into an uproar and started shouting things like, "Let her answer!" "We want to know the answer!"

In this case, Mrs. Van Bedaf stood up and said something unintelligible to most of the audience, and then said loudly, "Let's build the dairy first." (Still no "yes" or "no" to the question... At that point the Van Bedafs declined for the third time to let us know whether or not their employees might become a burden to our health system.)

When all was said and done, mayor Frye made a motion to accept the application for the permit, and some discussion ensued.  At that point, the other members of the Planning and Zoning Board moved to reconvene at another date (March 11, 2008 at 7 p.m.) after they had reviewed the documents that were submitted to the board.

Note: All the Planning and Zoning board members ... with the exception of Mayor Frye, who had an obvious personal agenda...listened attentively and were courteous to all persons that spoke before their group.

Click here to print out a copy of the petition.

Near a Large Dairy in ID

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AS-1155
Scott Birchall, Livestock Waste Management Specialist

"One of the most important decisions when planning any livestock facility is site selection. The site for the feedlot operation must not only be suitable for housing, handling and feeding cattle, but also must ensure that surface and ground waters are protected and that the impact from odors is minimized. Whether you are planning a new facility or modifying an existing one, the following checklist may help avoid costly mistakes....

Odor
Minimizing the impact of odor on neighboring residents is a combination of:

~Recognizing the prevailing wind direction. In North Dakota, this is usually from the north west or south east (or north/south in the Red River Valley).
~Using topography to your advantage. Odor tends to "drain" down slope in the evening in summer.
~Reduce visual impact. Visual confirmation of dust is more likely to result in odor complaints. Windbreaks will also help break up odor plumes and provide stock protection.
~Providing a buffer distance to the neighbors. It is difficult to specify a particular buffer distance without taking into account the previous factors. Be aware that odors from some larger facilities have been detected 4 to 5 miles distant. Anyone planning a facility within 1 to 2 miles of neighboring dwellings will have to provide more detailed information on how they plan to minimize odor."

Read More...

(The above web site

-produced by the North Dakota State University
NDSU Extension Service-

is extremely informative about the precautions that should be taken regarding livestock waste management.  How does the proposed MEGA-dairy intend  to address these concerns?)

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When the wind blows across the MEGA-dairy lagoon and toward town, say good-by to outdoor family gatherings and visits on the front porch.