A bill pending in the Indiana State Senate would eliminate all local control on the placement of livestock operations in Indiana.
A hearing on Senate Bill 249 by the Senate Agriculture Committee will be at 10 a.m. Monday in Statehouse Room 130.
The bill, authored by Sen. Jean Leising, R-Oldenburg, would prohibit a county, municipality or township from adopting rules that prohibit building or fixing an agricultural building to be used for livestock as long as it meets wetland rules and those issued by the Indiana Board of Animal Health.
The legislation would nullify zoning rules in many Indiana counties, including Wayne and Union counties, which have rules governing the placement of livestock facilities.
Some Indiana counties have enacted moratoriums prohibiting any new livestock operations, but Leising said there is no database showing exactly how many communities have taken that action.
According to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Indiana already has the strictest regulations for livestock operations of any state in the Midwest, Leising said. She acknowledges some counties have worked hard to write ordinances that are fair to all parties but said that’s not the case everywhere.
“I’ve been told there are setbacks that exceed a quarter of a mile,” Leising said. “When you multiply that by four, for each side, it realistically becomes a limit that a farmer can’t overcome.