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03-02-2006: news-opinion

State priorities are mixed up
By PAT WOLFE
Esmond

I am puzzled about why the state Department of Health is cracking down on Cory Christofferson’s fence made of tires (Tribune, Feb. 21), saying the tires are hazards, while remaining silent on the threats posed by the lagoons that accompany the latest rush to site vertically integrated factory-style hog productions in the state.
These lagoons, which threaten soil and ground water, as well as huge public costs in case of abandonment, worry me a lot more than the fence.
Nevertheless, the state will permit them without clear evidence that they have sufficient contracts for safe land application of manure.

The state will permit them without making sure the lagoons don’t leak into ground water. In fact, after a judge ruled some years ago that the volume and quality of waste they produce should require them to get solid waste permits just like landfills, the department issued “emergency rules” specifically exempting them.
The state will also permit them without requiring a single dollar of bonding, even though the clean-up of an abandoned lagoon can stick a county government with hundreds of thousands of dollars in liability.
Could this be another example of how it’s easier to come down on the little guy than on a multinational corporation?
The state should get its priorities straight and start regulating factory-style hog production in proportion to risk.