Adopted 2009

Adequate regulation and inspection of large-scale, confinement livestock facilities are necessary to prevent risk to area ground water and surface water supplies.

I.  Regulatory

A.  At the state level, “generally accepted manure management practices” should be a set of preventive

     requirements rather than voluntary guidelines.

1.  Agency attention should prevent any contamination from manure retention systems, as well as

     manure handling and land application practices.

a.  Facilities should be required to adhere to the federal Clean Water Act as well as to

     state rules.

b.  Facilities should receive EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and NPDES (National

     Pollutant Discharge Elimination system) permits before they begin operations.

c.  At a minimum, testing of downstream contamination, soil percolation and saturation

     level profiles should be required at all facilities several times each year.

2.  The MDEQ (Michigan Department of Environmental Quality) and the MDA (Michigan Department of

     Agriculture) must collaborate on enforcement of CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations)

     permit requirements and other state and/or local regulation.

3.  The State should reserve the right to impose a moratorium on any additional confinement facilities in

     all or part of the state when the environment and/or public welfare are jeopardized.

B.  Local and County governments should have the ability to set additional zoning restrictions to reflect particular

     local environmental and health needs.

II.  Public Involvement

A.  The public's right-to-know and the freedom of information about such facilities or any activity likely and/or

     known to pose environmental risks must not be abridged at any governmental level.

 

B.  MDEQ/MDA should be required to keep and update a listing of all CAFOs operating in the state, and to make the

     list, as well as violations and fines levied, available to the public.