EPC rejects Calhoun County confinement appeal

None of the members of Iowa’s Environmental Protection Commission were interested in supporting Calhoun County’s appeal of a hog confinement north of Lohrville.
The EPC met this morning in Des Moines, giving the Calhoun County Board of Supervisors a chance to make its argument against the proposed confinement, as well as letting members of the public share their concerns about the project.
But after asking applicant Burr Oak LLC several questions, mainly about why company officials did not claim points on the master matrix relating to odor mitigation, no EPC member offered a motion of any kind relating to the county’s appeal. The EPC members offered no discussion on the topic, and with lack of a motion, they took no action, effectively ending the process.
All three members of the Calhoun County Board of Supervisors attended the meeting, but since they were not in session, could not discuss whether they would consider any further appeal of the permit. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources granted the permit in September, just a day after its interim director promised to take the concerns voiced by Lohrville residents under consideration.
Pick up the Oct. 24 edition of The Graphic-Advocate for more of this story.