Attorney General Tom Miller says the state legislature should give the IowaDepartment of Natural Resources new authority to prevent hog confinementsfrom being built in certain areas of the state.Under present law, a distance of only 25-hundred feet is required between ahog operation or manure lagoon and a home, school or park. Miller says thelegislature should also re-work the Iowa law which grants pork producersprotection from so-called nuisance lawsuits about odor if the operation doesnot violate state guidelines.In addition, Miller believes Congress should toughen federal anti-trust lawsabout mega-mergers, such as the one involving pork giants Smithfield Farmsand Murphy Family Farms. Miller worries there’s not enough teeth in federallaw to prevent monopolies in the nation’s ag sector.However, Miller says it would be going too far to ban mergers while the lawis re-worked. Miller made his comments during taping of the Iowa PublicTelevision program, “Iowa Press.”
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