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Combined Animal Feeding Operations include those for cattle, pigs, chickens and other livestock and poultry.

Summer Water Quality Study to Zero in on Effects of Large Cattle Farms

Michigan Appeals Court Rules Michigan Gives Farmers Too Much CAFO Leeway

January 17, 2008       Leave a Comment
By: Dave Rogers

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A new study of water quality in Saginaw Bay is planned this summer to determine exact sources of pollution fouling the beaches.

Health departments of Bay, Tuscola and Huron counties are joining with Michigan State University (MSU), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to conduct the study.

Preliminary testing by MSU last summer showed the sources of contamination to be from both human and animal wastes.

(See related stories in MyBayCity.com archives for May 20, June 12 and July 4, 2007. Use search function at the top of any article.)

This summer's testing is necessary to determine strategies to reduce dangerous e-coli bacteria in the bay and control polluted muck that is ruining beaches like the restored 1,200 foot area at the Bay City State Recreation Area.

A local group headed by County Commissioners Kim Coonan and Ernie Krygier has been raising funds and using volunteers to clean the beaches for the past few years.

Meanwhile, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that the state is giving farmers too much power to make rules about controlling manure from Combined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs).

The Sierra Club, an environmental advocacy group, had sued the state DEQ alleging the process of granting permits was flawed and didn't allow enough public input.



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The court, on a 2-1 split decision, agreed with the Mackinac Chapter of the Sierra Club and held that the state program for regulating cattle and poultry violates the federal Clean Water Act.

Michigan now has about 200 large animal or poultry feeding units. Robert McCann, DEQ official, told the news media that a farm with 5,000 cows produces as much waste as a city of more than 100,000, in other words about the size of Saginaw.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm is sitting on a package of bills passed by the Michigan Senate, dominated by Republicans, that would allow CAFOs to avoid environmental regulations. Democrats in the House are said to be split over whether to approve the measure.

Reports from Ontario, Canada, pointed out that problems similar to those in Michigan are being experienced.

Provincial sources said a microbiologist for the Huron County (Ontario) Health Unit in 2003 analyzed 10 years of beach water data and found a 40 kilometer stretch south of Walkerton that routinely had high bacterial pollution.

As a result, the beach water-sampling program was improved, resources were realigned, and the posting process was changed. Small streams, which are numerous in the area, have E. coli levels that exceed provincial water quality guidelines.

A lab analysis undertaken for local property owners indicates that the E. coli comes from animal, rather than human, sewage. The contaminants are concentrated in the near shore area, which is also the critical habitat area for many aquatic organisms. The problem is believed to stem from the number of factory farms in the area, according to Tom Spears of the Ottawa (Ont.) Citizen newspaper.

However, an Ontario project is currently underway to define whether shared pathogen sources from livestock, septic systems and wildlife are affecting water quality in the area.



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Dave Rogers

Dave Rogers is a former editorial writer for the Bay City Times and a widely read,
respected journalist/writer in and around Bay City.
(Contact Dave Via Email at carraroe@aol.com)

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