December 12, 2024

1 thought on “JANET STURGIS: County not considering CAFO health issues

  1. This is incredible. The very fact that the county would consider (tweaking) changing a zoning ordinance to accommodate a specific industry should raise eyebrows. The county (it appears to me) is stepping out on a very slippery slope for several reasons. One, this opens the door for special interest to come flooding through with their special requests. Two, once a CAFO site is established, it is very, very difficult and costly to undo the damage it will cause. And I say will, because these types of factory farms have a track record. You can research it. And I strongly recommend that you do.
    As far as the CBPA zoning placements, these were developed to restrict building too close to water runoff areas. The building areas would include septic tank placement and lawn positioning (fertilizer runoff). They also are instrumental in preventing farm run off to enter into the water body systems. The storm water regulations are evolving to include ever increasing amounts of automobile emissions and increased farm waste. These all involve a cleaner and more environmentally sound water system.
    In my honest opinion, I believe that a majority of folks would want that on the Eastern Shore, due to the fact that Aqua Business is one of your larger industries and employs dozens of watermen and connected business such as trucking and hauling, boat building/maintenance, restaurants, seafood dealers and seafood processing. Not to mention that most of your drinking water is directly below you.
    The very idea that the county would gamble its most precious resource of clean water is beyond my scope, I will admit. I, too, am asking…Problems? What problems? It seems to me someone, has their hand out, while another has theirs in a pocket. This is a very slippery slope indeed. Once in place, there is no going back and you will find the cost beyond imagination once the bill comes due. But, by then…the money will have changed hands and the cleanup will be the citizen’s responsibility. And it will be too late to undo what has already been set in place.

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