Road damage, distances from homes and how to track complaints were among the confined-feeding related topics discussed at Thursday’s Jay County Plan Commission meeting.
The meeting opened with a presentation of the confined feeding study commission’s recommendations, a step that did not happen at the plan commission’s June meeting.
Larry Temple, a member of both commissions, presented recommendations on a variety of topics related to confined feeding.
The study commission’s recommendation on fixing damaged roads is “almost word-for-word what’s in the wind farm ordinance,” said Jane Ann Runyon, a study commission member.
The commission called for any routes to be used for construction to be identified and approved by the county engineer after a pre-construction inspection. The engineer could choose to require a bond from the confined feeding operator to pay for future construction-related damage.
Plan commission member Mike Rockwell wondered what could legally be put in an ordinance and whether anything could be done about damage from traffic that is under weight limits.
If the issue was addressed with wind farms, Runyon said, there shouldn’t be a problem with addressing it for confined feeding too.
But confined feeding is more complicated than wind farms in that heavy traffic remains after construction, while the traffic to wind farms dies down except for maintenance issues.
“I think that’s a bigger concern than just initial repairs,” said Joe Johnston, a study commission member.
Runyon and plan commission president Jim Zimmerman agreed that finding funds to maintain roads is difficult already, but discussion of the topic is important.
The commission recommended setbacks from residences of at least 750 feet for operations with less than 4,400 hogs, 24,000 ducks, 30,000 turkeys or 1 million chickens.
For larger operations, or any operation with a lagoon or exterior manure storage, the recommended setback is 1,320 feet — a quarter mile.
Plan commission member Shane Houck asked if the study commission discussed longer setbacks for massive operations.
“I’m not sure 1,320 feet is enough. I know Randolph County, they’re going out to 2,000 feet,” Houck said.
Temple said the topic didn’t come up, but study commission member Rex Journay later explained that between the setbacks and the minimum acreage guidelines, there seemed to be sufficient limits on where operations could be built.
Larger operations must be built on a minimum of 40 acres. At least half of the setback must be on the operation’s own property.
Citizens might have complaints about roads, setbacks or other aspects of confined feeding, but Johnston pointed out that there is no “central repository” for the complaints. The county might not know about a complaint that goes directly to the state chemist, for example. Additionally, many citizens don’t know what county or state office is best to call for different problems.
If citizens could call one number to report their complaint to the county and then be directed elsewhere if necessary, both issues would be addressed, he said.
Zimmerman agreed with the importance of being able to properly direct complaints, noting that it’s also necessary to make sure the building and planning department is not overwhelmed by the task.
“I don’t want these guys to become the complaint department for everybody who has an issue,” he said.
Temple said he also gets complaints at the Purdue Extension office and directs callers to the proper agencies.
Other recommendations include:
•Requiring a new permit application for changes or expansions involving at least 20 percent more animals.
•Requiring permits for off-site satellite manure operations.
•The building and planning department contacting neighbors in a 1-mile radius and publishing a notice of the proposed confined feeding plan in the newspaper.
•An inspection by a site selection committee composed of the county engineer and surveyor and representatives from the health department and the soil and water conservation district.
•Permit costs based on construction costs: $350 for up to $1 million, $1,000 for $1 million to $5 million and $2,500 for more than $5 million.
•An annual review of the Jay County water table by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
•County permits being valid for the same length as Indiana Department of Environmental Management permits, if applicable, or two years if not.
The plan commission will consider the recommendations and hold a public hearing when it has drafted a version of a confined feeding ordinance. After approval by the plan commission, the ordinance would go to the county commissioners.