County denies hog confinement expansion

IOWA - A hog confinement expansion has been denied by the Henry County Supervisors due to incomplete information from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and a feeling that DNR could not enforce its own rules.

Supervisor Gary See said there were issues with the water table in the area, along with several other concerns that led to the supervisors voting the expansion down.

The lot is in section 32 of Jefferson Township, which is about two or three miles northwest of Trenton. The application was filed by Dave Eichelberger on Feb. 2. Eichelberger's application indicates that two new confinement buildings will be erected beside two existing hog units. The number of pigs on the location will grow from the present 2,467 to a proposed 6,100 head. Waste generated would be an estimated 6 million gallons per year.

At a Feb. 21 meeting, several residents of the area came to ask the supervisors to deny the application, but were fairly certain the application would be approved. A main concern was the amount of water needed for the hogs and the enforcement of rules.

The supervisors took these arguments into account on Thursday. Henry County Planning and Zoning Administrator Joe Buffington said the supervisors looked at the requirement for a strip log to be filed on a 64-foot well drilled for the confinement. The log was supposed to be filed within a year of drilling and it has been two years and the log has not been filed.

Source: MPNews.net

6 March 2006