Public Comments – Made by Diane Rosenberg, Executive Director, Jefferson County Farmers & Neighbors, Inc.
JFAN reviewed and researched the Master Matrix very carefully over these last few weeks. We find problems with points taken in six of the questions.
We are in agreement on Questions 3 and 4 where 5 points should be deducted for each question.
We raise concerns with Questions 12, 17, 19, and 25. For each of these questions, design, operation and maintenance plans were to be submitted in order to receive points.
The plans for Question 12 are very sketchy, Question 17 is nonexistent, Question 19’s maintenance plan doesn’t specify maintenance procedures, Question 25 has an adequate operation plan, but not complete enough design and maintenance plans.
There isn’t even a Construction Design Statement so we don’t know to what standards this confinement will be built.
I won’t go over the details you’ve heard them and you have copies of my comments.
There are a few things I feel are important to address.
I searched out and found copies of Master Matrixes that were approved by the DNR so I could compare them with the Hill View application. I sent them to you so you could also use them as a point of comparison. These matrixes provide much more detail and drawings on how the various systems will be designed, operated and maintained.
The last couple of Master Matrix applications that you reviewed were for KK Finishers. Many of the same questions were also part of that matrix, and those answers had some additional detail than these brief notes for Hill View. However, you all ruled – and the DNR agreed – that those plans were insufficient.
As you consider whether to award points tonight, I would encourage you to not lower the bar from what you previously found unacceptable.
Hill View is doubling in size to 3600 hogs. CAFOs of this size have a big impact on communities whether people speak out or not. It is respectful to community members as well as to the process to provide the full information that is required by the Master Matrix in order to be awarded those points.
If all the points were deducted for the six questions of concern, the CAFO would score 420 points and fail. JFAN feels this is a suitable number of points for this Master Matrix.
If you have any questions about whether or not to award points, I would encourage you to not award them because if the matrix fails, the DNR engineer will review it. If you pass the Matrix, the DNR can’t.