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Five Local Strategies to Keep CAFOs Out
Use the public comment and review process
Get on every mailing list possible: Division of Environmental Quality (state environmental agency), USDA/NRCS, EPA, Army Corps, county Planning & Zoning, and any other agency that may have to issue permits or review applications from CAFOs. Scrutinize the public notices and other information sent out on CAFOs - the info may be concealed or listed in such a way that it is not immediately apparent.
Follow up: provide comments on water quality, air quality, socio-economic issues, whatever. You don't have to be an expert (although soon you will discover that you are becoming one); keep reminding the agencies that they are REQUIRED not only to listen but to RESPOND to citizens' comments. Get involved in state level committees and agency working group that are charged with issues related to water quality, air quality, or CAFOs. Push every button at every level.
Keep commenting and enlist others to join you. Let them know that you are not going away - this falls under the heading of "wearing them down." Sooner or later, you will begin to notice incremental changes in the way things are done, and if enough forces are gathered the Planning & Zoning, health departments, and finally the state agencies will begin to respond positively - and may even turn down a permit or make conditions actually protective of the environment (which means that the applicant will likely withdraw). Organize a Friendly Letter from the Neighbors
If you learn that a CAFO is moving in - or a landowner is about to become a contract grower, one tactic Missouri activists have used successfully is what is now known as the "neighbor letter." Quite simply, all of the adjacent and neighboring landowners send a letter to the company and the potential contract grower telling them that everyone is having their properties appraised; and will have the properties re-appraised 9 months after hog-production begins. The letter concludes by stating that the neighbors will sue the company and the grower for any loss of property values. See a letter template.
NOTE: The appraisals must be completed and the letter sent PRIOR TO the beginning of construction of the facilities. Press for County Health Ordinances
Most states won't let counties zone for "agricultural operations". Even though we all know that a CAFO is really an industrial operation, not a farm in any sense, legally these operations are still considered "agricultural." But, all counties have the authority, indeed the duty, to adopt ordinances to protect the public health and welfare - including protection from rank odors and noxious emissions. You and your allies can place pressure upon country commissioners to adopt such ordinances. Model ordinances are listed in the Toolkit's section on additional resources. Use the "threatened or impaired watersheds" process
Obtain from your state water regulatory agency or the USEPA regional offices for your area a copy of the listing of all "impaired waterbodies" or the "303(d) list" for your state. Every state has such a list. They can also provide you with a copy of the regulations that govern the impaired waterbodies process. No new or expanded CAFOs are allowed to locate in the drainages of impaired waterbodies unless very strict standards are met. If you know of such a new or expanding operation in an impaired waterbody, report this to the state agency, the regional office of EPA, and to Ken Midkiff, Coordinator of the Sierra Club Clean Water Campaign (who will follow up with EPA-DC). Sue them
This is not necessarily the last resort. In fact, just filing a lawsuit opens a lot of doors and lets everyone - the agencies, politicians, and the CAFO owner or grower - know that you mean business. Suits can be filed under the "citizens suit" provisions of the federal Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, and legal fees are recoverable (which is how your attorney will get paid). Lawsuits are easier and you are more likely to prevail if a group of plaintiffs files jointly. The problem with a lawsuit is that you may have to show that you have been harmed - which means waiting until after something negative has occurred. Recent cases, however, have prevailed on the basis of a "presumptive nuisance" which means that certain things can be presumed to be a nuisance and there is no need to wait until it actually happens.
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