MEMORANDUM

TO: Timothy Navarre, Assembly President

Members, Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly

FROM: Bill Popp, Assembly Member

DATE: April 25, 2002

SUBJECT: Ordinance 2002-14, concentrated animal feeding operations

The proposed ordinance regulates as a conditional land use permit concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) for swine production.

CAFOs are more in the nature of industrial uses, rather than traditional farm uses. CAFOs have a large number of confined swine. A single CAFO may consist of several locations and each location may house thousands of swine. The operations may take a variety of forms. A particular site may be used just for fattening or finishing with the swine trucked in from another location and then trucked out again for slaughter, or a site could involve a birth to slaughter operation. However, a consistent element of CAFOs is that thousands of animals are confined on any given day. There are numerous reports and studies regarding the potential harm to air and water quality and quality of life in neighborhoods.

The definition of a CAFO is based on the federal regulations for the Clean Water Act thus requiring a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The application regulations have been subject to inconsistent interpretation by state and federal regulators over the years. Currently 2,500 swine are considered a CAFO and automatically a "point source" of pollution. However, depending on various factors peculiar to a particular animal feeding operation, there is discretion to consider a fewer number of animals a CAFO. Revised federal regulations are under consideration that would adjust down the number of swine that constitute a CAFO. The borough's permit is intended to supplement any federal or state permit required as the borough may have concerns regarding CAFO locations not addressed by federal regulation prohibiting discharge of pollution into navigable waters or state DEC permits which also may not address issues such as manure handling processes, odor, noise, or impacts on surrounding property values.

In addition to defining a CAFO, the ordinance requires a detailed site plan including processes and facilities for handling the large volume of animal waste and unused carcasses or parts of carcasses. A permit fee of $.20 per head is charged to defray the cost of monitoring, processing complaints, inspections, and enforcement that will require expertise the borough does not employ. In order to obtain a permit, a civil engineer's or other qualified professional's report is required regarding the impacts on water and air quality and borough roads. The report is submitted to a three-person task force appointed by the mayor that makes a recommendation regarding approval, denial, and permit conditions to the mayor. A public hearing process before the task force is required, and the mayor's decision is appealable to the board of adjustment. Renewal and revocation proceedings are similar to other conditional land use permits; however, consistent with the initial permit procedures these matters are considered by the mayor and the task force rather than planning director and planning commission.

Further research is being done on adequate setback requirements which are one of the primary protections the ordinance affords. Additionally, whether more definitive regulations regarding slaughterhouses should be addressed by the ordinance is also being considered. An intermediate public hearing is requested for May 21, 2002, to consider these issues and take other testimony relevant to the ordinance.