Illinois Correspondent 

 

PEORIA, Ill. — State Sen. David Koehler announced package of legislation last week that would make changes to laws regulating large animal barns, or confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), in Illinois.

 

The Peoria Democrat held a news conference March 28, surrounded by supporters of the pair of Senate bills (1272 and 1273) he said are aimed at protecting the environment in rural Illinois.

 

In a news release and accompanying photo, individuals holding signs and brochures alongside Koehler were said to represent “farmers from all across the state.” The release notes the recent success of anti-CAFO environmental groups that lobbied against hog barns planned on a farm in rural Fulton County near Bernadotte.

 

Permits for the construction of the 20,000-animal farm were withdrawn after considerable pushback from opposition groups and some area residents. Without offering many specifics, Koehler said his legislation, which is supported by fellow Democrat state Sens. John Mulroe and Ira Silverstein of Chicago, will bring transparency to the process of planning and expanding hog farms.

 

“People in rural Illinois deserve to know exactly what is going to be built in their backyard,” Koehler stated. “Registering these facilities and getting wastewater management plans on file are just a few of the steps we can take to make sure the public health of rural Illinoisans will be protected.”

 

Koehler’s legislation will almost certainly seek changes to the Livestock Management Facilities Act (LMFA), which has overseen CAFO regulatory matters since it became state law in 1996.

 

However, both Warren Goetsch, deputy director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture, and Jennifer Tirey, Illinois Pork Producers Assoc. executive director, said in March the current LMFA is functioning extremely and well and provides a good balance between farmers’ ability to earn a living and protecting the environment. Illinois Citizens for Clean Air and Water (ICCAW) told Farm World in March that a state senator, possibly Koehler, would soon introduce legislation seeking what the group calls “CAFO reform” measures. ICCAW’s stated recommendations include granting county boards the right to issue binding decisions on CAFO siting requests within their jurisdictions.

 

The group is also seeking tighter setback regulations from “surface waters,” along with requiring “all CAFOs to register with the Illinois EPA, so the agency actually develops and maintains an accurate location database,” according to an article published in the March 2017 Heart of Illinois Sierra Club’s Tallgrass Sierran newsletter and confirmed by ICCAW co-founder Karen Hudson.

 

Though it is unclear whether Koehler’s legislative package includes any of ICCAW’s suggestions for CAFO reform, Hudson said the senator was informed of the group’s recommendations prior to the bill announcement.

 

A summary of the bills found on LegiScan.com describes both S.B. 1272 and 1273 as seeking only to amend the Environmental Protection Act by making a technical change. According to the website, the bills were referred March 29 to the Illinois Senate Environment and Conservation Committee.

 

Farm World has reached out to Koehler’s office to request more specifics on the legislative package, which was confirmed by the Illinois Senate Democrats’ website. More details will be reported as they become available.