Chambersburg PA (October
23) – The Centre County Association of Township
Officials recently adopted a county-wide resolution declaring
that it opposes “any State efforts to remove”
the power to regulate factory farms from township governments.
The resolution was adopted in response to the Pennsylvania
House’s consideration of Senate Bill 1413, which they
believe would strip local governments of the power to regulate
and control factory farm operations.
The association’s action was forwarded as a formal
resolution to the Pennsylvania State Association of Township
Supervisors (PSATS), to be voted on at their 2003 State Convention.
In full, the resolution reads that the Centre County Association
urges PSATS to “support the power of Township governments
to adopt ordinances that regulate factory farms (also called
concentrated animal feeding operations) and oppose any State
efforts to remove that power from Township government.”
In adopting the resolution, the Centre County Association
of Township Officials became one of five County Associations
that has taken a stance on Senate Bill 1413, and in support
of local control over factory farms and land applied sewage
sludge.
In the eyes of its opponents, Senate Bill 1413 seeks to strip
away the powers of municipal governments to regulate and control
livestock factory farms and to regulate and control the land
application of sewage sludge in the state. Known informally
to its detractors as the “factory farm bill,”
this legislation is supported by agribusiness interests seeking
to remove any local control over factory farm operations.
Proponents deny any attempt to steamroll contract agriculture
facilities into rural counties. They say they merely seek
a uniform, state-wide policy that discourages “frivolous”
lawsuits against legally regulated and permitted “advanced
agriculture” operations. Advocates for the new legislation
say it will allow reasonable expansion of confinement hog
farrowing and/or finishing units. These are said to extend
options for farmers who want to diversify their farming operations
with the support of a tightly integrated mix of firms providing
feed, supplies, markets and processing for the hogs produced.
Senate Bill 1413 prohibits municipal governments from adopting
any Ordinances that would affect “agricultural operations”
– declaring all such Ordinances to be “frivolous”
– and the Bill seeks to punish municipal officials with
the payment of attorneys’ fees to the agribusiness and
sludge corporations that will sue the municipality.
SB 1413 is a renumbered and reintroduced version of SB 826,
which failed to move out of the Senate Agriculture Committee
due to intense opposition from municipal officials, farmers,
and community leaders across the state. The primary sponsor
of both Bills is Senator Roger Madigan (R-Bradford). His district
includes the Nippenose Valley, where two proposed advanced
ag hog facilities are facing stiff opposition from the rural
residents due to the fragile subterranean formations of the
area. (See the related Nippenose Valley story.)
In addition, the parents of a child who died in Berks County
after being exposed to sewage sludge have filed a lawsuit
against the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee
for violating the state’s Sunshine Act by holding a
Committee meeting in the back of the House voting Chamber
in their haste to refer the Bill to the House.
Several newspapers across the Commonwealth have declared
their opposition to the Bill and have urged House members
to vote against the Bill, regardless of any amendments offered
to the legislation. They include the Harrisburg Patriot-News,
the Clarion News, the Sharon Herald, and the Centre Daily
Times. At least one newspaper has called the legislation an
“affront to the concept of self-governance.”
A coalition of statewide organizations has arisen to oppose
the legislation. Groups within the coalition include the Pennsylvania
Farmers Union (PFU), the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable
Agriculture (PASA), the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA),
the Sierra Club, Citizens’ for Pennsylvania’s
Future (PennFuture), the Pennsylvania Environmental Network
(PEN), the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF),
and the Quality of Life and Local Control Caucus of Township
Supervisors. Caucus coordinator is attorney Thomas Linzey
of Chambersburg, Pa., who also heads the CELDF. His phone
number is (717) 709-0457.
All of the groups within the coalition are urging legislators
to vote against Senate Bill 1413 – in any form –
and to protect and preserve the rights of municipal governments
and communities to regulate factory farms and land applied
sewage sludge. Many commentators have noted that the passage
of this Bill may open the window for additional attempts by
special interests to continue to strip away local control
and community rights to self-determination, Linzey said.
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