CAFOs Good for Economic Development? Maybe Not...

Gail Strobl, treasurer of Grant County Concerned Citizens, asks a reasonable question on the Big Stone Lake Area Forum: Are confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) good economic development? Strobl cites a 2008 Marshall County Journal interview in which Veblen mega-feedlot operator and EPA-certified polluter Rick Millner said he saw "huge potential for dairy development" in North and South Dakota.

Strobl then compiles a damning list of headlines since that show CAFOs don't seem to be such a boon to anyone's economy.

Strobl's article is an interesting read. Unfortunately, the headlines don't include hyperlinks, so I need to do some Googling to check her sources. Check it out, then register your opinion in the conversation at the Big Stone Lake Area Forum.

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Also bubbling up in Grant County: Gail tells me the Grant County Concerned Citizens just filed suit against the county commission to bring a proposed increase in setbacks for feedlots to a public vote. The group petitioned for bigger setbacks last fall, but the county commission declined.

In happier news, East Dakota Water Development District is launching a big two-year water quality monitoring project in the Whetstone and Yellow Bank watersheds. That project should give Grant County residents some good data on what's happening with their water.