WELCOME TO OUR SECOND SEMI-ANNUAL CSP NEWSLETTER


Volume 1 Issue 2
November 17 2007


Highlights of our projects include:

  • Fall Presentation Calendar: Diverse and exciting topics promote awareness and spark debate on the issues. Volunteer opportunities for each event.
  • Education: We continue to study the issues as we develop a formal PR plan, which Needs experienced volunteers. See our new Website, created with our thanks by our volunteer webmaster Bob Mandel. Read articles listed in this issue and write letters to the editor.
  • Monitoring: We are monitoring health impacts, air emissions and water quality near the proposed feeder pig CAFO near Wauzeka. The data gathered will be analyzed and used to encourage enforcement with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Volunteers needed to do water monitoring and to transport water samples.
  • DNR Water Discharge Permit (WPDES) Process: Since the County permit for the Roth CAFO application was accepted by the state a month after rescinding their permit, we are on to the next stage in the process. We are gathering all documents of this application and having these reviewed by our own experts. We are consulting with Midwest Environmental Advocates (MEA) and others to develop a strategy for the next steps with this application. Watch for DNR hearing dates and plan to write comments and attend.
  • Karst and Soils Study: We continue to lobby for county and state action as well as exploring partnering with other organizations to promote this essential scientific research which will support public policy to protect public health and the environment. Continue to lobby your county representatives to promote this study.
  • Networking: CSP has joined the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters (WLCV), an organization dedicated to promoting conservation leadership and policies. We attended our first meeting to promote legislation to create science-based standards for the spreading of industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste on vulnerable landscapes. Plan to attend their "Conservation Lobby Day" on February 25th, 2009. www.conservationvoters.org We also proposed a resolution at the local Wisconsin Conservation Congress (WCC) meeting to gain local control of the siting of large scale agricultural operations in order to protect the environment and health and safety of the residents. This resolution passed and will be presented to the state WCC Air, Waste and Water Study Committee. www.dnr.wi.gov/org/nrboard/congress/
  • Internal Projects: We continue to work on a fund raising campaign. Experienced volunteers needed. We are hiring a part-time coordinator to keep an "Eye on the Overall". Our goal with this position is to increase participation and public awareness. And we are applying for 501c3 nonprofit status.

THANK YOU for your continuing support and efforts. TALK with your neighbors. WRITE to your local papers on the issue and your legislators as specific issues arise. VOLUNTEER to attend meetings, work on committees, and help in any way you can. DONATE funds for our projects. Many voices and wide spread support are the key to success.

We rely totally on funding from our supporters. With the growth of our organization, which includes a part-time paid coordinator and new projects we are always in need of donations.

CRAWFORD STEWARDSHIP PROJECT
PO Box 284 Gays Mills, WI 54631
608-735-4277
csp.county@gmail.com

FALL PRESENTATIONS

Thurs. October 16TH: Join Crawford Stewardship Project and Valley Stewardship Network for a lively presentation from Karen Hudson on ORGANIZING IN SUPPORT OF INDEPENDENT FAMILY FARMS. Karen lives on a fifth generation family farm in Illinois. She is a graduate of Illinois State University and has a Bachelors Degree in education. She is President of F.A.R.M. (Families Against Rural Messes), a grassroots organization that organized when livestock factories targeted Illinois for expansion. Karen Hudson focuses on community organizing and media relations, agriculture policy and regulations, and how industrial farming impacts water and air quality and public health. This event will take place at Soldiers Grove Community Room in the Library, 102 Passive Sun, Soldiers Grove at 7:30 PM.

Mon. October 20th: KARST ISSUES IN S.W. WISCONSIN. They're back! Dennis Frame and Fred Madison, the co-directors of UW-Madison Discovery Farms along with Maureen Muldoon Associate Professor of hydrogeology at UW Oshkosh, will present an informative discussion on karst geology so prevalent in S.W. Wisconsin and its effects on ground and surface water. This presentation will take place at 7:30 PM, U.W. Richland Center in Room 102 of the Science Building. The lecture is co-sponsored by the Geology Department of U.W. Richland Center, Crawford Stewardship Project and Valley Stewardship Network. The Science Building is located on the east end of campus, walk across the foot bridge over Brush Creek.

Thurs. October 30th: Just in time for the election, Mike McCabe executive Director of Wisconsin Democracy Campaign will speak on Campaign Finance: THE POLITICAL INFLUENCE OF BIG AGRICULTURE. Find out what this nonpartisan political watchdog has to say about your legislators and real democracy. Wisconsin Democracy Campaign is a network of citizens fighting government corruption and working for fair elections since 1995. This enlightening and dynamic speaker can be heard at 7:00 PM in the Community Room of Vernon Memorial Hospital Medical Office Building (lower level), 407 Main Street, Viroqua. Cosponsored by Crawford Stewardship Project and Valley Stewardship Network.

Thurs. November 13th: Learn all about it! Michael Murray from the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) will serve on a lively panel discussion with Jamie Saul from Midwest Environmental Advocates (MEA) to discuss the controversial LIVESTOCK SITING LAW. This meeting is for anyone interested in learning about the new siting standards and its relevance to local governments. This event will be especially useful for Land Use Planning and Zoning Committees. The public presentation is scheduled for 7:00PM at the Seneca Town Hall, 21041 Town Hall Rd. and is co-sponsored by Crawford Stewardship Project and Valley Stewardship Network.

Watch for more entertaining and educational presentations coming in February and March!

EDUCATION

Check out these articles:

  • See where your commercial and agricultural tax dollars are going... WI Democracy Campaign article on federal and state subsidies to CAFOs. www.wisdc.org/sp031605.php
  • Health problems and suggested solutions from the PEW Commission on Industrial Farm Production. Read the summary. This is a prestigious report with thorough scientific study and concrete suggestions: www.ncifap.org
  • American Public Health Association (APHA) is a highly respected health professional organization. This article promotes a precautionary moratorium on CAFOs nation wide. www.apha.org/advocacy/policy/policysearch
    Enter policy # 20037

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Any of the above articles would spark excellent letters to the editor. Remember to keep letters brief and to the point. Send to all of our regional papers: Courier Press, Independent, LaCrosse Tribune, Boscobel Dial, and the Vernon County Broadcaster (email addresses below) and your local papers. And send us a copy as well for our files.
howe@mhtc.net indnews@mwt.net vcb.news@lee.net thedial@mwt news@lacrossetribune.com

ROTH APPLICATION UPDATE

In April the State Livestock Facility Siting Review Board unanimously voted to reverse the Crawford County decision to grant a license to Roth Feeder Pig, Inc. for an expansion over the CAFO limit. Unfortunately, on May 16, 2008, the Board reversed their earlier decision by a vote of 6 to 1. The original decision was in response to petitions filed by 29 neighbors of the CAFO to contest a decision made in January of 2008 by Crawford County to issue a license to the facility. CSP has been supporting the neighbors in this petition.

CSP was disappointed with this turn of events and be- lieves it represents evidence that the Livestock Siting Law is not effectively protecting the rights of County residents to protect their own resources, particularly clean water.

The earlier decision that the application was "incomplete, not credible and internally consistent" was re-considered due to a Petition filed by A.V. Roth claiming that the original reversal was based on incorrect information. Board deliberations centered on the issue of whether or not the 590 standards for Nutrient Management included in the Livestock Siting Law had been met.

Lengthy requests to file "amicus briefs" in favor of approval of the Roth application were made by the Wisconsin Farm Bureau, Wisconsin Pork Producers, Wisconsin Cattleman's Association and the Dairy Business Association. These were denied by the Board but may have had an effect on their final decision.

Concerns of the Board mirrored those CSP had earlier brought to the County. In an apparent inability to decide these issues themselves based on the application "on its face" the Board chose to rely on staff to explain some of the questionable areas of the Nutrient Management Plan. After a lengthy presentation the staff specialists left the Board with the impression that the plan met the 590 standards and should be approved.

It is CSP's position that the County and DATCP Livestock Facility Siting Review process did not address the above flaws in the Roth nutrient management plan.

CSP has since been monitoring the process the Roth facility must go through in order to obtain its Clean Water permit (WPDES) from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. This permit is necessary for all CAFOs in Wisconsin and must be obtained before the proposed expansion of the Roth facility can take place. It involves a review by the DNR of both the structural engineering of the facility and the plans for disposing of the 1.2 million gallons of hog manure it generates annually. This process is covered by several state laws and rules and is quite complex.

CSP with the help of Midwest Environmental Advocates and other experts is preparing to present further evidence in the form of comments on the application.

As part of the process a public hearing will be held. This hearing gives opportunities for testimony on a number of issues surrounding the impacts this facility will have on the environment and also the quality of life and economic well being of neighbors and area landowners and residents. CSP is planning to have expert testimony on legal issues as well as the engineering and nutrient management portions of the plan. We are also encouraging comments from the public who are affected by the siting of this facility. Stay tuned for further information and updates!

CONSERVATION PRIORITIES

Members of the Crawford Stewardship Project attended a "Conservation Priorities" listening session of the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters in La Crosse discussed their conservation priorities in a collective bargaining type format.
Some of the primary issues of CSP concern at the meeting included:

  • Campaign Finance Reform as it relates to issues of corporate control of our legislators. Many attendees expressed the view that positive environmental change requires campaign finance reform.
  • Re-creation of the Public Intervener's Office to intervene on citizens' behalf in environmental pollution issues.
  • Polluted Runoff in Vulnerable Landscapes (such as the Driftless Region in the southwest part of the state) was an issue presented by Midwest Environmental Advocates (MEA). Legislation is needed to create science-based standards for sprecsp.county@gmail.comading industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste on vulnerable landscapes.

This event also offered a wonderful opportunity for regional environmentalists to meet and connect with one another.

The Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters (WLCV) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to electing conservation leaders, holding decision makers accountable, and encouraging lawmakers to champion conservation policies that effectively protect Wisconsin's public health and natural resources. WLCV has had great influence in forming state policies and is a collective voice for Wisconsin's natural environment. There are still three more listening sessions across the state, as well as "Conservation Lobby Day" on February 25, 2009. For more information go to www.conservationvoters.org.

WISCONSIN CONSERVATION CONGRESS

On Monday, April 14 approximately 6400 people attended the 2008 Spring Fisheries and Wildlife Rules Hearings and Wisconsin Conservation Congress (WCC) in all 72 counties. This is the only "advisory body" in the state where citizens of Wisconsin elect delegates to represent their interests in natural resources, both local and statewide, by working with the Natural Resources Board and the DNR. The hearings allow citizens to comment and vote on proposed fish and wildlife rule changes, advisory questions, and to submit resolutions for rule changes they would like to see in the future.

Emile Smith of CSP submitted this resolution. "Be it resolved, that (we)...recommend that the Conservation Congress work with the DNR to take action...to allow for heightened local control of the siting of large scale agricultural operations across the state, and acknowledge the need for local communities to determine their own future course is protected and encouraged by the laws of the state."

The resolution passed 19 to 7 and will be discussed and acted upon at a meeting of WCC Air, Waste and Water Study Committee on September 20, 2008 in Poynette, WI. See agenda at www.dnr.wi.gov/org/nrboard/congress/

CRAWFORD STEWARDSHIP PROJECT
PO Box 284
Gays Mills, WI 54631

608-735-4277 csp.county@gmail.com www.crawfordstewardshipproject.org

Board of Directors
Chair - Emile Smith
Vice Chairs -Jennifer Nelson, Edie Ehlert
Secretary - Gloria Derksen
Treasurer - Lamar Janes

Governmental/Legal - Jennifer Nelson
Public Relations - Edie Ehlert, Gloria Derksen, Jane Holzhauer, Emile Smith
csp.county@gmail.com Administrative Affairs - Ellen Brooks, Lamar Janes
Research - Maggie Jones, Rob Horwich

"While CAFOs clearly are profitable, they are only profitable because so much of the cost and damage is externalized onto the environment, neighbors and wildlife. The monitoring, supervision, clean-up, restitution, fines are not happening, thus the true cost of CAFOs never find the way onto the balance books." Talking point from the CAFO Conference.