July 26, 2018
To the editor:
I want to thank The Beacon for its article last week concerning the Flower Creek Swine CAFO (Confined Animal Feeding Operation). This began to explain the process for challenging State DEQ approval of 1.5 million gallons of manure to be inflicted White River and Claybanks Townships.
This CAFO and its planned manure spreading are in the wrong place, too close to Flower Creek floodplains and wetlands, especially too close to Lake Michigan. How can we claim “Pure Michigan” when we are allowing swine manure into a central recreation attraction in this area, a drinking water source for communities like Muskegon all up and down the coast?
In the opinion of (State Senate candidate) former Representative Bumstead, this CAFO is wrong due to its “Location, Location, Location.” (But Rep. Hughes, also running for State Senate, has refused to say anything at all about it, apparently playing for support from both sides).
Perhaps the public should know that their tax moneys are backing this CAFO. This week, I drove to Big Rapids to read the US government document which justifies USDA backing the huge loan. Prepared by the Farm Service Administration (FSA), this report is supposed to justify U.S. tax dollars being used to pay off the the loan if Flower Creek Swine is not able to make its payments to a bank in Indiana.
This document ignores the current oversupply of pork in this country, mostly due to the tariff war between China, Mexico, and the U.S. It cites the “…consistent demand for the products produced.” But then the document (p. 15) states, “The current economic climate has also created incentives for lenders to reduce risks for higher risk agricultural loans.” What does this mean? We taxpayers should be backing the loan so that the bank takes less of a risk on this otherwise risky loan? And this is used to argue why our taxpayer funds should bear the risk instead?
This document’s “Cumulative Analysis also says, “If not managed appropriately, the pollutants potentially leaving the CAFO may affect public health, watersheds, air quality, soil erosion, and fertility directly or indirectly” and cites stressors such as “nutrients, pathogens, sediments, EDCs, antibiotics, and metals…”
Folks, do we really want to take this risk to Flower Creek and Lake Michigan and offer the backing of our own taxpayer money to do so?
If you want to help ROAD (Reviving our American Democracy) contest the operation of this CAFO, please visit our website to find out how to fight back: Click on https://roadactivist.org/ “Donate Now” to send a check or just click on the picture of the pigs for GoFundMe.
Margot Haynes, Montague MI 894-0651 or 894-4138