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Hang ‘Em High Today, I met with several of the local residents, including the chair of the Sawtooth Group of the Sierra Club -- Duane Reynolds. Others were: Bert Redfern (who you met before), Bill Chisholm, local attorney Rich Carlson, local veterinarian Charlie Lenkner, Don and Della Johnson, John O’Connor, Betty Slifer, and Helen McCracken. Together, we discussed strategy to rein in the mega-dairies and make ‘em behave like good neighbors.
It was agreed by all present that the state and federal regulatory agencies are just short of worthless when it comes to ensuring compliance with the laws that are supposed to protect the public’s health and the environment. The fact is that all state and federal agencies are subject to political pressures that make it hard to conduct the compliance audits and take the proper enforcement actions. So where does that leave us? Well, If there are no state troopers on the highways, it doesn’t matter what speed limit is posted. Without enforcement, there are no limits. In the end, we agreed that, like it or not, we the citizens are sometimes the best enforcers, which is why there are "citizen suit" provisions in the Clean Air and Clean Water acts. Time to start using ‘em. Next up for me: Utah. Not the Redrocks wildernesses, which I’d love to go explore, but rather the high desert area around Milford. Just to the west of there is Circle 4 Farms, home to hundreds of thousands of unhappy hogs. The name, Circle 4, is now a misnomer, (just as the word "Farms" is). While four large agribusinesses originally owned the operation, Smithfield bought them all out and is now the sole proprietor. Oh well, no surprise there, integration being the watchword of our times… Coming to you next time from Circle 1. Ken Midkiff. Up to Top |
