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GoogleConcentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are either good business or bad news, depending on which perspective they are viewed from, as the current controversy over Dennis Gessling's proposed CAFO near Arrow Rock demonstrates.
According to Missouri Department of Natural Resources officials, opponents of Gessling's plans may have little leverage over the situation as long as the farmer complies with state regulations.
Gessling plans on building a facility that would house 4,800 hogs, making it a class 1C CAFO, the third largest type. With a 1C CAFO, which can contain from 2,500 and 7,499 hogs, the only regulation requirements they fall under is the water quality section of the DNR regulations.
Air quality regulations apply only to a class 1A CAFO, which is the largest, containing more than 105,000 swine weighing under 55 pounds.
Under the requirements for a CAFO permit, the owner or operator of the planned CAFO must notify the adjoining property owners located within 1.5 times the buffer distance. The buffer distance for a 1C CAFO is a 1,000 feet, which is the minimum buffer distance required between the nearest confinement building or lagoon and any public building or occupied residence.
Gessling's proposed operation is about two miles from Arrow Rock.
His is not the first to locate in the vicinity of a state park, either. There is one CAFO located near the Battle of Athens State Historic Site in Revere, which received its permit in September.
While the Arrow Rock issue is unfolding, DNR is considering a permit application from Ozbun Farms to build a Class 1C CAFO about two miles from Roaring River State Park near Table Rock Lake.
The Ozbun CAFO will hold 60,000 pullets to lay eggs. The DNR has set a public availability session on that project for Monday, Jan. 29.
The question of air quality is one the DNR continues to wrestle with, officials said.
Renee Burgart of the DNR Division of Environmental Quality said the agency is convening a workgroup to examine the state's odor regulations. The group will meet Jan. 30 in Jefferson City.
This workgroup will examine the department's Air Pollution Control Program odor regulations to determine if changes are needed. Odor complaints typically are among the most common complaints received by the Air Program.
The workgroup is composed of representatives from industry, environmental groups, regulatory agencies and other interested parties.
She pointed out that the last significant change to the odor regulations occurred in 1999 and brought Class 1A CAFOs under the odor rules.
On the Net:
http://www.dnr.mo.gov/env/wpp/cafo/index...
http://agebb.missouri.edu/commag/permit/...
http://www.epa.gov/region07/water/cafo/r...
http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/guide/ca...
Contact Rachel Harper at
Contact Eric Crump at