Delaware County considers future hog farm regulation

The Delaware County commissioners on Monday declined to take action on requests to stop Rhett Light’s proposed Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) on Delaware County Road 1270-North, including an appeal from the Hoosier Environmental Council.

But the commissioners did introduce an amendment to local zoning ordinances to address some concerns about future farms’ proximity to neighbors.

In Monday’s commissioners’ meeting, attorney Samuel Henderson of the Hoosier Environmental Council addressed some of the same issues the HEC raised in a recent letter to the commissioners, including the HEC’s argument that the commissioners do have more control over the hog farm than they profess.

The commissioners, who said they were threatened with legal action, have noted that the Indiana Department of Environmental Management approved the establishment of the hog farm as well as the use of manure from the farm as fertilizer. The commissioners also lifted their initial plan to put the few conditions that are under local control, including building permits, on hold.

“There’s extensive evidence of the health threat posed by large CAFOs,” Henderson said Monday.