The Indiana State Senate Environmental Committee approved SB 193 which requires IDEM to increase CFO/CAFO inspections. IDP along with our ag partners oppose this additional regulatory burden for the following reasons:
- The system isn’t broken. There are 1635 permitted livestock/poultry/dairy operations in Indiana and from Nov 2023 through Oct 2024 there were only 6 discharges to waters of the state.
- These barns aren’t allowed to discharge. They aren’t like industrial facilities with an NPDES permit that IDEM regulates. There is NO acceptable amount of manure that can be discharged from our production sites. The only way manure is allowed to leave one of our farms is when it is land applied on crop ground at an agronomic rate. And IDEM isn’t the only agency overseeing that application. Anyone land applying that manure must be trained and licensed by the Office of the Indiana State Chemist.
- We disagree with IDEM’s assessment that it could accommodate this increase in inspection frequency without hiring more inspectors. We don’t want IDEM to divert resources from discretionary inspections based on risk factors in order to satisfy a blanket statutory requirement. We want IDEM to have the discretion to inspect where it will have the greatest environmental benefit, not just meet a talking point.
Please contact your State Senator and voice your opposition to SB 193.
It will have little if any environmental impact and will only divert IDEM resources from more critical discretionary responsibilities.”
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