The Iowa Environmental Protection Commission’s meeting today in Clear Lake and is starting its review of the new rules for proposed livestock confinements. Hugh Espy of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement says the rules, which aren’t final yet, will do little to improve Iowa’s air and water. Espy says the new rules will be a “bureaucratic nightmare” with 57 different points county boards of supervisors must review when considering proposed livestock confinements. Espy says despite the new rules, supervisors will not have final say in where hog lots may be built. That authority still rests with state officials.Espy says the new rules are designed to give local people the impression they have some say in where what he calls “factory farms” are built, while in reality they don’t.Espy says it’s “trying to pull the wool over people’s eyes” while the Iowa Department of Natural Resources still has the final say. The 2002 Iowa Legislature voted to let local officials review confinement applications by drawing up a list of social and environmental factors, but maintained state officials’ authority to make the final decision. The Iowa Environmental Commission is now working on the final draft of the factors that’ll be used to “score” applications.
