LWV/ABC Testifies at Bayfield County CAFO Ordinance Hearing

Dee Johnson, co-chair of the LWV/ABC’s Water Committee, testified December 17, 2015 at the hearing held by Bayfield County’s Large Scale Livestock Study Committee, in support of the operations ordinance and other regulations developed by the Committee after months of careful study.  

Comments by ABC/LWV:

I am here on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Ashland & Bayfield Counties.  We very much appreciate both the Committee’s thorough review of the potential impacts of CAFOs, and the efforts the County has made to keep its residents informed and involved.  The Committee’s extensive work has allowed it to develop an operations ordinance which will hopefully reduce the CAFO impactson the quality of the human and natural environments in Bayfield County.  

We understand that CAFOs have a multitude of potential impacts, including those to surface water, groundwater, microbiology and air quality.  We are glad to see that these extremely grave risks have been addressed in the proposed ordinance.  We also wholeheartedly support the adoption of an animal waste storage and management ordinance, as well as the incorporation of State NR 151 standards into that ordinance.  Together, these County regulations would help fill the gaps in the state regulatory scheme.  This is a self-reporting industry and this region’s CAFO specialist is located over 200 miles away and has 77 CAFOs to monitor.  The County should consider requiring CAFO operators to hire independent monitors to verify that they are meeting state standards, and to prove with written land leases that they have land control for all the acres listed in their nutrient management plans for the duration of their WPDES permit. In addition, the balance of the Committee’s findings and recommendationswhich would provide additional groundwater, air quality, and human and animal health protections, have our strong support.  

The Fish Creek and White River watersheds contain Exceptional and/or Outstanding Resource Waters, and Lake Superior, as you know, contains 10% of the world’s fresh water.  With increasing threats to other drinking water supplies, it is more imperative than ever that we do everything we can to protect the remaining sources of fresh water,.  The LWV Water Position states that “maintaining access to clean water which supports life and a healthy environment is a public trust, a fundamental human right, and is the shared responsibility of all who live or do business in Wisconsin.  .  .  Decisions about water use and management must be made with consideration for public safety and the impact those decisions will have on all current and future generations.”

The League fully agrees with the Committee’s recognition of the “economic and cultural importance of agriculture to Bayfield County.”  Large CAFOs bring none of the benefits to the area that our current family farms do. Rather they directly confer risks of pathogens, disease, and anti-biotic resistance, threatening the livelihoods of our existing farms.

The Badgerwood facility would be the first swine CAFO of this magnitude in the Lake Superior Basin and as such, poses unique and frightening risks. We hope the County will do all it can to require state-of-the-art manure management practices, including adoption of the Committee’s proposed operational ordinance and other recommended measures.  Lake Superior is a priceless and irreplaceable resource, and we cannot do too much to protect it.

The Large Scale Livestock Study Committee will forward the proposed ordinance and other recommendations to the full Bayfield County Board, which is scheduled to take this matter up at their January 27, 2016 meeting.  

CALL TO ACTION: Contact your Bayfield County Supervisor, and tell them to support the operations ordinance. For a list of the Bayfield County Board Supervisors click here to visit the Farms Not Factories website. 

Join the 2015 Sacred Water Walk

The 2015 Sacred Water Walk is now in our area! Kate saw them on Highway 2 approaching the Bad River Reservation's east border on August 27th. You can join the walk or festivities. If you are interested in joining the last leg of the walk, please see the Walk Protocols.

Here is the latest information from Katherine Morriseau:

The Water Walkers will be walking across the South Shore — From Duluth to Red Cliff and on to Madeline Island. This is the schedule of events and everyone is invited to participate. Walk and talk and be part of an historic event. For more information check out these web sites.

Mother Earth Water Walk
Indigenous Rising
Water Walkers United Facebook page

Walk a block, a mile, or many more! All are welcome!

Tuesday Morning they will leave Port Wing and continue on to Red Cliff.

Aunt Josephine, the infamous lead walker begins her walk at 4:00am,  so I'm thinking is that once they depart from Port Wing on Tuesday Morning, Sept 1st,  it wouldn't be a surprise to see them walking past the Health Center maybe around  12:00 Noon...

Tuesday FEAST : community of Red Cliff is hosting a feast around 5:00pm at Legendary Waters or nearby. There will be signs on Hwy 13.   

Wednesday Morning up and early on the to catch the 6:30 am Ferry to Madeline Island.    

From the organizers: try to understand,  sometimes as much as we'd like to put a time out there, it might not work out. So, think of the water — the constant movement, or something such as a large rock might get in the way... and the water has to take a few minutes to flow around it... it will all happen as it needs to.

Chi Miigwech to all those that have put their heart, mind and body into making this event a memorable event!

From the Bayfield Chamber to its members:

Anishinabe women from across North America have been inspired to take up their work and walk the waters in their community. All of the walks are spiritual and physical in nature and are to raise awareness of the water. They walk to call attention to the sacred gift of water, the source of all life.

The Sacred Water Walkers are going to be coming through Bayfield on Wednesday, September 2nd and need our help and support. The Water Walkers will carry salt water from the Atlantic Ocean along the traditional migration route around the Great Lakes and end on Madeline Island. This walk is to raise awareness of oil spills by ship and train on the St Lawrence River to Lake Superior.

Protecting the water is crucial to our way of life in Bayfield and the Chamber and Visitor Bureau has twice voted to protect the water by resolution, once because of the proposed iron mine and more recently for the proposed pig factory (CAFO). Both of these posed an unacceptable risk to the water in Lake Superior and our region. 

If you would like to help the Water Walkers in their current walk you can do so in a number of ways:

1. You can walk with the walkers.  You can contact them directly at info@waterwalkersunited.com.

2. You can donate a gift to be given to the Water Walkers on Madeline Island at the end of the walk. Please drop these off at the Chamber office. Any and all gifts are welcome.

3. You can donate fruit, veggies, or pastries for the Walter Walkers to eat on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. Please contact David at the Chamber office.

If you are interested in any or all of the above please contact David at the Chamber office. Please drop off any food items on Tuesday to be available on Wednesday morning 6 am.

Support the Walk    Tentative Schedule

From the Madeline Island Chamber:

The Water Walkers led by Elder Josephine Mandamin, will be arriving on Madeline Island Wednesday, Sept. 2 on the 6:30am ferry.  This will be the completion of their water walk from Quebec to Madeline Island carrying sacred water to bring attention to the importance of protecting our water resources. Their walk began in June and is re-tracing the traditional migration route of the Anishinaabeg.  Other Anishinaabeg leaders and participants will be arriving throughout the morning on Sept. 2.

There will be a feast at Ojibwe Memorial Park at noon on Wednesday sponsored by the Forest County Potawatomi,  and a potluck feast noon on Thursday at Joni's Beach on Madeline Island and organized by Islanders honoring the walkers.  Everyone is invited to extend a warm welcome to the Water Walkers on the completion of this important walk.  Organizers are grateful to the Forest County Potawatomi have donated funds for the feast, housing, and transportation of the Walkers.  Thanks to everyone who contributes time, food, and support to this event.

Review and Comment on Enbridge Pipeline before September 30!

Please write or email your comments to the DNR at the addresses listed below!

For more information see the DNR news release and the DNR website.

Enbridge has submitted Chapter 30 (Wis. Stats.) waterway and Chapter 281.36 (Wis. Stats.) wetland permit applications to the Department in February 2014. Enbridge will be submitting an application for a Construction Site Erosion Control permit under NR 216 (Wis. Adm. Code), and an Air Pollution Control construction permit under NR 400-499 (Wis. Adm. Code). In addition, the DNR will review the projects for potential impacts to endangered resources.

The DNR will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for these two projects. The EIS will inform decision-makers and the public about the anticipated effects of the proposed projects and alternatives. The EIS will look at direct local effects, as well as broader impacts at regional, statewide and larger scales.

Public scoping

The DNR is seeking public input on what topics should be addressed in the EIS. We've drafted an EIS outline [PDF] and would like the public to weigh in on topics that may be missing from the outline. 

The public is invited to review and comment on the draft EIS outline in writing by E-mail or by mail to: Jeff Schimpff - OB/7, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921. 

Comments on the EIS outline draft should be received by Tuesday, September 30, 2014.

Click here to see our letter to the DNR.