Clay County, Iowa (Radio Iowa) — Plans for two large livestock operations, one in northwest Iowa, the other in south central Iowa, are being abandoned and members of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement are taking some of the credit.
Iowa Select, the largest hog corporation in Iowa, withdrew permit applications Monday for facilities in Clay and Wayne counties. ICCI organizer Jess Mazour says they brought local residents together in each county to oppose the operations and that led to the withdrawal.
She says both applications, which were overwhelming opposed by local residents and county supervisors, were likely to be appealed at the October meeting of the Environmental Protection Commission after receiving permits from the Iowa DNR. Mazour says their opposition to the Iowa Select farms centered around the environment.
Earlier this month, ICCI appealed to the EPC to strengthen the master matrix, rules used in locating large livestock operations, but the appeal failed. Mazour says they’ve turned to organizing local groups to oppose the big-ag operators.
She says ICCI’s major focus now is to call for a moratorium on large ag operations. The Clay County operation would’ve housed five-thousand head of hogs while the Wayne County facility would’ve housed 74-hundred.
