Crawford Stewardship Project

Sustain Rural Wisconsin Network Letter to DATCP October 27, 2010

Good Morning:
Thank you for this opportunity-I will make my comments brief.
I am here to read Sec. Nilsestuen’s statement from the May DATCP board meeting regarding the scope of the Siting Law Review:
“My recommendation is that we move forward as the secretary is required-do the technical committee and expert portions of it...at a minimum.”
He went on:
“So the questions we are going to have to come to terms with is ...where do we want to look for policy? My thought was that we ought to think of the June meeting more and perhaps even subsequent follow up meetings given the complexity and size, for discussion of that. ...Beyond ...(the tech committee), as I said, I think we will be in for a parallel and probably more complex discussion in terms of the policy issues that were raised this morning... I personally think that issues like; where are the gaps, issues about only parts of the state being covered, issue about what is the coordination between siting decisions, cafo and related regulations on livestock units ... I think we need to ...continue to look at that, and eventually getting to things like land carrying capacity overall.... To me those are the kinds of discussions we need to have before we make decision as to what we are going to take a longer look at...the policy questions are almost endless.”

Discussion by staff and board ensued and finally the board agreed economic and social impacts raised by so many citizens were outside the scope of the technical committee but that did not preclude a closer look at these later.

The Board then voted unanimously to accept the report and move forward with the tech committee.

The Siting Law Review has not been on the Board’s agenda since May.-although hours of public comments by industry supporters and board discussion as to impacts on industry was allowed by Sec. Nilsestuen at the July meeting. The first formal discussion of the next steps outlined by Secretary Nilsestuen will take place this afternoon.

WE ARE ASKING THE BOARD TO “MAKE EXPLICIT” IN THE SCOPING STATEMENT BEING CONSIDERED TODAY, THE CREATION OF A POLICY COMMITTEE TO ADDRESS ISSUES RAISED BY THE PUBLIC AND NOT COVERED BY THE TECHNICAL REVIEW.

Jennifer Nelson, Sustain Rural Wisconsin Network
Steuben Wisconsin 608-476-2301

			Crawford Stewardship Project works to protect the environment of Crawford County from threats such as those posed by concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and to promote sustainable land use, local control of natural resources, and environmental justice. Crawford Stewardship Project is a nonprofit organization. Donations are tax deductible. Support CSP Send a check to: Crawford Stewardship Project P.O. Box 284 Gays Mills, WI 54631 csp.county@gmail.com
Home News About Us Events Research and Articles Photo Gallery Links
	Ongoing Projects Sand Mining Crawford County CAFOs Water Quality and CAFO Monitoring Karst Geology Sustain Rural Wisconsin Network-SRWN Livestock Siting Law & State CAFO Permitting Crawford Stewardship Project is grateful for the generous support of the Wisconsin Community Fund. Order your Driftless Wisconsin poster today! "CAFOs 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.	Sustain Rural Wisconsin Network Letter to DATCP October 27, 2010 Good Morning: Thank you for this opportunity-I will make my comments brief. I am here to read Sec. Nilsestuen’s statement from the May DATCP board meeting regarding the scope of the Siting Law Review: “My recommendation is that we move forward as the secretary is required-do the technical committee and expert portions of it...at a minimum.” He went on: “So the questions we are going to have to come to terms with is ...where do we want to look for policy? My thought was that we ought to think of the June meeting more and perhaps even subsequent follow up meetings given the complexity and size, for discussion of that. ...Beyond ...(the tech committee), as I said, I think we will be in for a parallel and probably more complex discussion in terms of the policy issues that were raised this morning... I personally think that issues like; where are the gaps, issues about only parts of the state being covered, issue about what is the coordination between siting decisions, cafo and related regulations on livestock units ... I think we need to ...continue to look at that, and eventually getting to things like land carrying capacity overall.... To me those are the kinds of discussions we need to have before we make decision as to what we are going to take a longer look at...the policy questions are almost endless.” Discussion by staff and board ensued and finally the board agreed economic and social impacts raised by so many citizens were outside the scope of the technical committee but that did not preclude a closer look at these later. The Board then voted unanimously to accept the report and move forward with the tech committee. The Siting Law Review has not been on the Board’s agenda since May.-although hours of public comments by industry supporters and board discussion as to impacts on industry was allowed by Sec. Nilsestuen at the July meeting. The first formal discussion of the next steps outlined by Secretary Nilsestuen will take place this afternoon. WE ARE ASKING THE BOARD TO “MAKE EXPLICIT” IN THE SCOPING STATEMENT BEING CONSIDERED TODAY, THE CREATION OF A POLICY COMMITTEE TO ADDRESS ISSUES RAISED BY THE PUBLIC AND NOT COVERED BY THE TECHNICAL REVIEW. Jennifer Nelson, Sustain Rural Wisconsin Network Steuben Wisconsin 608-476-2301