Posted: 1/31/06
Feedlot permit denied
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Following a strong show of public opinion, the Houston County Planning Commission voted 6-1 on January 27 to deny a conditional use permit for a feedlot.
Scott Sanness had applied for the permit to operate an animal feedlot with more than 300 animal units, and to construct a manure storage basin. It was for up to 990 animals units, or 2,475 hogs, in section eight of Wilmington Township. (A hog counts for .4 of an animal unit.)
Any feedlot over 300 animal units requires a conditional use permit, as does a manure storage basin.
The same arguments against the plan that had been voiced by many people at two previous hearings came out again at last weekís 90-minute-long session. The concerns centered on the potential for air and water pollution.
The hearing started with discussion about the odor s the feedlot might emit. Bob Scanlan, county zoning administrator, said Sanness was willing to install biofilters on the proposed buildings if the planning commission required them by permit.
Scanlan said he ran an offset model intended to determine potential downwind odor. The model uses information such as the square footage of the hog barn and manure basin, the proximity of the nearest house, and anything that would reduce downwind odors. ìItís just a tool to help make decisions on zoning issues regarding feedlots,î he said.
The model showed that without a biofilter, there would be no noticeable odors 1,000 feet away 91 percent of the time. It would be 98 percent odor free with the use of biofilters, Scanlan reported.
Ken Folie, a feedlot technician for Dodge County, then gave a 30-minute explanation of biofilters. About 20 farms have them in his county, and they are working well, he said.
Biofilters involve having fans blow the air from the tunnel-ventilated barn out through plenums and over moistened wood chips, where microbes consume the air pollutants. The University of Minnesota has tested them for years, Folie said.
Their official life span is three years, but they last longer than that, Folie said. Farmers are good about making sure the fans work properly because if they donít, the air quality in the barn will suffer, pig growth rate will drop, and the death rate will go up.
Folie also thought the location was a good site for the operation. It is in the valley on the west side of County Road 17, about about a half mile south of Highway 44.
People oppose it
Several members of the audience were not reassured by the comments from Scanlan and Folie. They said repeatedly that the potential for both air pollution and water run-off was not worth the risk.
ìRun-off is a major issue,î Gary Wilhelmson said. ìItís got to go somewhere.î
Wilhelmson also questioned the economic benefits of the proposal. ìI donít think we need the factory hog farm,î he said. ìIíve yet to find one benefit economically to the community.î
Wilhelmson said he admired Sannessí ambition, but he said the project was not in the right place.
John Dolle asked Folie if he believed the U of M tests. Folie replied that he did.
ìYouíre not living here!î someone in the audience group of about 20 people shouted.
Planning commission chairman David Alstad said that two large hog operations located a half mile from Highland Prairie Church had forced the church to buy all its water. He didnít specify how this occurred.
Tim Clawson of Clawson Development Services in Rochester, noted that 62 people had signed a petition opposing the feedlot. ìAnd if you donít believe them, would you like this project in your neighborhood?î Clawson asked.
Steve Guberud said he had registered complaints about the smell from the hog operation of Lloyd Sanness with the zoning office, and nothing was done about it. ìCanít that be controlled so we can live with it?î he asked.
Red Haines said that the MPCA is not good at enforcing odor rules. ìDonít count on them,î he said.
Commissioners speak
Charlie Wieser, the planning commission member who voted against the motion to deny the permit, noted that the zoning was correct in the Sanness application. He pointed out that a housing development was denied last year in the county (at Valley High Golf Course) because a feedlot was within half a mile of it. ìWeíre in a tough position,î he said.
Planning commission member Terry Rosendahl said he had concerns with the population density and the topography of the area around the proposed feedlot. ìI just donít see it going in that valley,î he said.
Member Glenn Kruse said the odors would travel down the valley. Itís hard to get a west wind in there to disperse it, he said.
Wieser said the feedlot could be closed down if there were a problem. Alstad said that would be hard to enforce, and would lead to lawsuits.
Planning commissioners also objected to the feedlot based on two of the 15 findings of fact on the criteria for granting conditional use permits.
Number six asks. ìDoes the proposed use create a potential pollution hazard?î Several commissioners said it did.
Number 10 asks, ìWill the Conditional Use be injurious to the use and enjoyment and orderly development and improvement of surrounding vacant property for predominant uses in the area?î Several commissioners felt it did.
The Sanness permit hearing was tabled by the planning commission in November. Sanness came up with a second site for the feedlot after that first hearing. The December hearing was also tabled so that people could look at the plans for the second site.
It will now go to the county board, which makes final decisions on conditional use and zoning permits.
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