Concentrated Animal Feeding Facility Advisory Committee

Meeting Minutes for June 11, 2002

Ohio Department of Agriculture

Bromfield Building

 

In attendance from the Ohio Department of Agriculture were: Kevin Elder, Deborah Abbott, Kristi Ford, Jenny Tiell, Barbara McGinn (representing the Attorney General’s office), Peggy Jackson, and Diane Conley.

 

Members Present

 

Members Absent

 

Chairman Doug Alderman called the meeting to order and reviewed the agenda.

 

April 3 Meeting Minutes

There were no changes to the meeting minutes. A motion was passed to approve the minutes.

 

Bylaws

There was some confusion on whether a “quorum” or “majority” is needed for action to be taken. After some discussion, it was agreed the statement would read: “A quorum of the committee is 11 members; a quorum must be present for official action to be taken.”

 

A motion was passed to approve the revised bylaws.

 

Animal Unit Work Group

The work group met on May 14, 2002. Meeting notes were distributed to the committee prior to the meeting, and a summary of recommendations, prepared by Maurice Eastridge, was distributed to the committee during the meeting. Time to review the recommendations was given to the committee.

 

The committee had a discussion on the definition of “animal unit” and could not come to a consensus on whether it should be included in rule or statute. A motion was made to table the document and recommendations to the General Assembly. However, it was approved to send a letter to USEPA recommending USEPA use a science-based definition, for example the “dry matter” basis. Doug Alderman will work with the staff to draft a letter to the USEPA with this recommendation and including the dry matter tables. Staff will also work with Director Dailey to add a letter by him in support of the Committee’s recommendation.

 

Rules Update

Public Information Meetings

There were two public information meetings held in April on the program’s proposed rules. An afternoon meeting was held in Wooster and an evening meeting was held in Lima. Questions were accepted from the public, and ODA staff answered them. More than 75 people attended both meetings.

 

Public Hearing

A public hearing was held in May at ODA on the program’s proposed rules. There were 12 oral testimonies, along with 462 written testimonies. ODA is in the process of responding to those.

 

JCARR Hearing

On June 3, ODA’s proposed rules appeared on the consent agenda for JCARR. The rules went through without any questions or problems. Presently, the program anticipates that the rules will be effective on July 2.

 

LEPP Engineer and Inspector Positions

The engineer and inspector positions were posted last week, and all applications must be filed by midnight on June 14. Interviews will be conducted during the rest of June. There are five engineer positions and two inspector positions. Kevin anticipated hiring the new staff by the middle of July or the first of August. Once the staff is hired, we will be holding agency informational sessions to educate our partners for the new program and its rules.

 

Public Seats Memorandum

ODA distributed a memo regarding public seats on the CAFF Advisory Committee. This spring, three organizations – the Citizens of Putnam County for Clean Air and Water, Concerned Citizens for the Protection of the Beaver Creek Watershed, and Neighbors Against Pollution – contacted Director Dailey questioning the legality of three organizations representing the public on the CAFF Advisory Committee. These organizations were the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, the Ohio Farmers Union, and the Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

After legal research, ODA staff discovered that membership can legally meet the definition of “contract,” because dues are paid in exchange for benefits or services. Therefore, if Ohio Farm Bureau and Ohio Farmers Union had members that owned or operated a permitted facility, they could not represent the public because of limitations within S.B. 141. Regarding the SWCD’s participation, Jim Young was asked to be on the committee as a member of the public. He does work with his county SWCD, but not as a paid employee. The members representing Ohio Farm Bureau and Ohio Farmers Union were either removed or voluntarily stepped down. ODA is currently seeking nominations for the two empty public seats.

Forms and Guidance Documents

A forms document was distributed to the committee. These forms were developed strictly by the requirements in the rules. Any comments from the committee should be forwarded to LEPP staff. These forms will be completed by the permit applicants and will be available on the website as well.

 

Future Meeting Dates

September 10               9:00 AM – 12:00 PM               ODA Bromfield

December 10               9:00 AM – 12:00 PM               ODA Bromfield

 

With no further items of discussion, the meeting was adjourned.