Ray Slach, Oasis Rd. CAFO Owner, Withdraws Petition to Double Size

Ray Slach, who owns about six hog factory farms in Johnson and Cedar Counties, wanted to expand his Oasis Road hog confined animal feeding operation (CAFO) from just under 2,500 hogs to 4,480 hogs. To do that he had to petition the Johnson County Board of Supervisors, although the real power to approve or deny CAFOs moved in the 1990s from local control to the State of Iowa.

Apparently, according to Supervisor Janelle Rettig, the concern was that a CAFO could be located on the line between two counties, which is nearly the case here, so the power of approval should rest with the state. This presents problems, obviously, since those in power in Des Moines aren't necessarily affected whereas locally, citizens are affected by CAFOs and the air and water pollution they produce.

Iowa is 49th out of 50 states in water quality. We have very dirty waterways, and big agriculture is a big part of the reason. Big ag has also contributed to the dead zone at the southern mouth of the Mississippi River.

For obvious reasons, many people, including most of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors, would prefer to bring such decisions back to local control.

In this case, Ray Slach had withdrawn his petition before the meeting began. I found that out the minute that I arrived at 9:00 a.m. to the meeting. I was directed to the overflow room downstairs because the supervisors' meeting was full to overflowing already. There was no parking available, and I had to rush outside after the nursing assistants being honored at the beginning of the meeting left so I could find a legal parking spot.

Fortunately, I thought to bring a copy of the anti-CAFO petition sent to me by David Goodner of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI), since I am a member, and many people signed it. Some even signed it on the back. I hope those signatures on the back are legal, but it's a moot point.

Unfortunately, as Supervisor Rettig pointed out, Ray Slach can move his CAFO expansion 900 feet away from his current CAFO on Oasis Road and not even need to ask for a permit. That's how loose CAFO regulations are.

The El Bandido's restaurant owner said he'd driven back and forth to West Liberty to get supplies for his restaurant and seen Ray Slach's dumpster with hog feet sticking out the top and hog bodies tossed to the side of the road he was on.
He described the sights and smells of Slach's operation as "third world."

What really pleased and gratified me was the strong presence and fine speeches of other members of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, including Jim Walters, Suzan Erem, and Ann Christensen. Christensen is also a member of 100 Grannies, who were also present in force.

A kind member of 100Grannies.org, who wore a hat saying "Granny for a Livable Future," invited me to become a member, although I am not yet a granny. That, apparently, is not a problem. Their meetings are non-denominational on Tuesday evenings at 5:30 p.m. at Trinity Church.

The overwhelming majority of those in attendance were strongly against the proposed expansion of Ray Slach's CAFO.