Since the Act's passage, ISA has actively promoted amending the law in several areas. The results of the study demonstrate the LMFA is not adequate for protecting rural communities from the ever-increasing proliferation of large-scale livestock operations.

Indeed, given Illinois' relatively weak laws on large-scale livestock production, the rate at which operations are expanding in the Illinois is cause for concern. In the last five months, the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) has received 52 notices from operators declaring their intention to build facilities raising more than 1,000 hogs(1). In general, the Alliance has identified 71 facilities across the state that are operating or currently under construction that will raise more than 1,000 hogs.

The operations are also becoming much larger. In 1996, Illinois Agriculture Statistics Service reported that the average size of a hog farm had a herd of 540 hogs. In comparison, the average size of operations intending to build their facilities in the coming year will have a herd of nearly 3,000 hogs. The largest facility announcing their intention to build will have 14,400 hogs on one site in Clark County. Moreover, IDOA only received 7 notices from operators intending to build operations with less than 1,000 head, compared to the 52 for facilities that will raise more than 1,000 head.

The details of this study demonstrate the LMFA is not adequate for addressing the rate of expansion and concentration in the hog industry (98% of the new development in Illinois is in the hog industry). Specifically, the research identifies the need for improving the LMFA by lowering regulatory thresholds, establishing statewide siting criteria, strengthening rules for manure management, and offering local units of government some level of control over large-scale operations.


Current Regulatory Thresholds

A producer can construct and operate a large-scale livestock facility with little substantive regulations in part because the few substantive rules under the Act are not required until a facility houses more than 17,500 hogs on one site at one time. Current rules for the LMFA only require operators of a 3,000 hog operation -- the average size of a new or expanding large-scale hog operation -- to do the following:

-- Send a letter to IDOA and neighbors with property within the setback area declaring their intention to build a facility;

-- Locate the facility only 1/4 from any occupied residence and 1/2 mile from a populated area. The setback distance is to a neighboring house. The neighbors land can be used for that 1/4 mile buffer;

-- Maintain a waste management plan on file at the operation. Operators must send a letter to the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) confirming they have a plan on file at the facility. However, operators are not required to wait for approval of their plan before they begin operating. Not until an operation raises 17,500 hogs on one site by definition must they wait for IDOA to approve their plan before they begin operating;

-- Certify the livestock manager, which only requires four hours of training and a passing grade on an exam written by IDOA.

-- If the facility utilizes a lagoon, operators must register their lagoon with the state, perform soil borings to identify any potential threat to groundwater, and install water monitoring wells and lagoon liners if the boring results demonstrate the lagoon poses a significant threat to groundwater. Of the 52 facilities with intention to build a large-scale facility, only seven have said they will use a lagoon system (more than half have said they will use pits). The LMFA only regulates construction of lagoons.

Loopholes in the LMFA definition of a single facility also allow larger facilities to escape relatively stronger regulations under the LMFA. The Hanor Corp. and Pig Improvement Company operates a facility with a capacity to raise 70,400 full-size hogs in White Hall on one tract of land with 8 separate sites each utilizing their own lagoon. The definition of a single facility says that if two sites side-by-side use two separate lagoons or they are separated by 1/4 mile, they are regulated as two separate facilities. Therefore, the facility in White Hall is regulated as 8 different 8,800 hog facilities rather than one 70,400 hog facility which lessens setback and manure management requirements.

To address the size of new facilities entering the state, the General Assembly needs to consider lowering thresholds for tighter regulations and eliminating loopholes created by definitions. A 3,000 head swine facility can accumulate 1.1 million gallons of manure annually and emit high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia gas that can travel at least three to four miles around the facility. The rules that apply to such facilities are too weak to address the threat posed by such operations.


Statewide Siting

Currently, the LMFA does not prohibit construction of large-scale facilities based on site conditions. Rules for the Illinois Environmental Protection Act prohibit construction of large-scale livestock facilities in 10-year flood plains and in the middle of waters of the state like streams, creeks or rivers. The rate at which facilities are expanding and concentrating production around the state increases the need for the state to adopt a formal siting process to prevent large-scale facilities from building in areas where they pose a threat to ground or surface water.

The case of Land O' Lakes demonstrates the need to develop siting criteria. The Minnesota-based company built their operation prior to adoption of permanent rules for the LMFA; however, if the current rules had been in place at the time of construction, they would not have prevented the corporation from building where it now operates: in sandy soils and an extremely shallow water table near the Illinois River.

Land O' Lakes operates two 2,400 sow farrowing units on separate sites near Beardstown in Cass County. While digging one of the lagoons, construction crews struck groundwater which impounded in the bottom of the lagoon. Neighboring citizens consistently and correctly argued the company would eventually pollute the aquifer beneath the lagoon from which the community draws its drinking water. Eventually, the corporation installed synthetic liners and water monitoring wells, at the request of the Illinois Attorney General, to attempt to protect the groundwater from future contamination.

However, citizens around the state are not satisfied and continue to worry about their groundwater. To prevent such situations from arising in the future, the General Assembly needs to immediately adopt siting criteria to prevent large-scale operations from building in 100-year flood plains, on karst topography, and in shallow water tables.


Manure Management

The rules on manure application raise several concerns as they pertain to Illinois' new type and size of livestock facilities. First, of the 160 facilities around the state currently operating, under construction, or with intentions to begin construction, only two have been required to file a manure management plan to IDOA for approval prior to beginning operation. Until facilities have 17,500 hogs on one site at one time, they will not need to submit a plan to IDOA for prior approval. Almost 60 million gallons of raw hog waste will be produced annually from the 52 new facilities when they begin operating. The state does not necessarily have any prior knowledge of how or where operators will apply the manure. Secondly, the LMFA only requires operations to access enough acreage to prevent overloading of nitrogen, rather than preventing overloading of phosphorous and potassium, as well as nitrogen.

Focusing on Welkco, LLC helps illustrate the concerns. This limited liability company is planning to build a 14,400 hog operation in Clark County. An operation of that size could produce enough manure annually containing enough phosphorous to adequately fertilize 9,270 acres for corn and soybeans production in a typical rotation with average yields, according to Illinois Agronomy Handbook and the U.S.D.A. Animal Waste Management Handbook. If the manure is applied to fewer acres, producers risk saturating soils with phosphorous which will either run-off into surface water or negatively affect soil fertility and crop yields.

In this case, there are two problems with the law. First, IDOA does not know how many acres Welkco has access to apply manure year after year unless Agency staff drive out to its operation and look at its plan on file. Secondly, the LMFA only requires Welkco to demonstrate access to approximately 3,600 acres to prevent overloading of nitrogen to comply with the regulations versus 9,270 acres to prevent overloading of phosphorous.

The General Assembly needs to change the law on manure management to ensure operators do not overload any nutrient and that all large-scale operations obtain prior approval of their manure management plans before beginning their operation.


Setbacks Requirements

The rate at which facilities are expanding and concentrating in certain counties or regions demonstrates the need to strengthen the rules which determine the minimum separation distance required between concentrated livestock facilities and residences.

Currently, a facility with more than 17,500 hogs can build 1/2 mile from any occupied residence or 1 mile from a populated area. Citizens currently living 1/4 mile away from operations with less than 10,000 hogs have complained of consistent noxious odors which have contributed to headaches, nausea, and a significantly decreased quality of life.

The law, as it pertains to setbacks, also discriminates against farmers. The LMFA does not afford farm residences any setback protection from facilities raising up to 2,500 hogs. A 2,499 hog facility can locate as close to a neighbors property line as they want if the neighbor is a farmer regardless of where the neighbor's residence is located on the property.

Moreover, the law allows facilities to use the property of its neighbors to meet the setback requirement because setbacks are determined by measuring the distance between the corner of residence and the nearest corner of the facility. The law needs to require operators to access enough acreage of their own to comply with setback requirements, rather than using their neighbors property. If setbacks were measured between the property line of the facility's nearest neighbor and the nearest corner of the facility, it would require facilities to use their own acreage as the buffer.


Local Control

Counties including Hancock, Pike, Wayne, Menard, Jasper and Knox have a higher concentration of large-scale livestock facilities relative to the rest of the state. These counties and its municipalities should have the ability to address the negative impacts associated with this industry, however, the LMFA does not allow counties to influence the siting of facilities within their borders.

Counties can control nuisances like water and air contamination, however, state statues do not offer counties the ability to zone agriculture, which is key for helping counties prevent the concentration of facilities in sensitive areas or to plan development within their borders. The General Assembly needs to consider removing the exemption from county zoning currently afforded to large-scale livestock operations to allow citizens through their local governmental bodies to control the siting of large-scale facilities.

Counties and municipalities want control over the large-scale operations. For example, in September 1997, the Wayne County Board passed a two month moratorium on construction of new hog facilities housing more than 1,250 hogs. They acted to help temporarily prevent the construction of a planned facility which could potentially raise more than 30,000 hogs at one time managed by Farmland Industries. Citizens are concerned about the proximity of the proposed site to the Little Wabash River. Farmland Industries' affiliate, Alliance Farms, already operates one 2,400 sow farrowing unit in Wayne County. According to Farmland Industries, they plan to farrow at least 50,000 sows in that region of Illinois. It is only reasonable for the state to allow Wayne County and surrounding counties to address, to some degree, the potential impacts of such highly concentrated development.


Conclusion

Thousands of Illinois' rural citizens and farmers that raise livestock, live next to large-scale livestock operations, and who are generally concerned about the impacts these facilities have on Illinois' environment, rural communities, and family farms have persistently presented their concerns based on their own experiences and study. This report helps confirm their concerns that Illinois has not done enough to ensure the responsible siting and oversight of large-scale hog operations. The report also reveals the rapid rate at which this new industry is expanding around the state. Therefore, time is of the essence. The Illinois General Assembly must, at the soonest possible opportunity, address the impact these and future facilities will have on Illinois' rural communities and natural resources. ISA will continue to track the operation of large-scale livestock operations as long as citizen concerns have not been fully addressed by the law.


Sources:

Illinois Agronomy Handbook;
U.S.D.A. - Natural Resource Conservation Service Animal Waste Management Handbook, 1992;
Agriwaste Technology, Inc. waste management plan;
Livestock Management Facilities Act and rules adopted May 20, 1997;
"Understanding the Impacts of Large-Scale Swine Production -- Proceedings from an Interdisciplinary Scientific Workshop," Kendall Thu, et al, 1995;
Files of documents obtained through the Illinois Department of Agriculture filed by Illinois operators required by the Livestock Management Facilities Act.

(1) * 1,000 hogs refers to the number of hogs being raised on one site at one time.