skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Sunday, February 16, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump administration begins sweeping layoffs with probationary workers, warns of larger cuts to come; NYC music school teachers strike after union negotiations break down; Ohio advocates push for inclusive policies during Black History Month; Health experts recommend sunshine, socializing to cure 'winter blues.'

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Federal workers tasked with securing elections from foreign interference are placed on leave, parents' organizations reject dismantling Dept. of Education, and the Congressional Black Caucus presses discussions on slavery reparations.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural America struggles with opioids and homelessness in unexpected ways, Colorado's Lariat Ditch could help spur local recreation, and book deliveries revive rural communities hit by Hurricane Helene.

Indiana Boosts Funding for CAFO Inspections

play audio
Play

Wednesday, July 17, 2019   

INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana is boosting its efforts to ensure that Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations are following the rules.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management inspects and regulates CAFOs, which often are criticized for animal-welfare and food-safety issues. The new state budget sets funding for CAFO inspections at more than $3 million annually for 2019 through 2021 - a sharp contrast to the roughly $318,000 a year in the last budget.

Margo Tucker, assistant legal counsel and assistant director for the Citizens Action Coalition, said ramped-up inspections are a step in the right direction - but, as she put it, "only one side of the coin.

"IDEM needs help both financially and legislatively," she said. "One side of that coin was addressed, but stronger legislation is still needed so that IDEM can continue to do their job. And until then, they're just limited in addressing all of the environmental ramifications that CAFOs represent."

Tucker said the General Assembly failed to act on an important piece of CAFO reform legislation this session. House Bill 1044 included air-quality requirements, odor monitoring and increased discretion to IDEM to deny CAFO permits. Industry supporters have said CAFOs don't pose human health risks when properly located and operated.

Fair Oaks Farm in northwest Indiana is under scrutiny after whistleblowers uncovered animal cruelty. Tucker said it's just one example of the need for additional oversight, adding that waste contamination from CAFOs poses health threats to people and the environment.

"If you're at your grandfather's farm and an accident happens or a spill takes place, it's just on a much smaller level," she said. "When you jack things up to the size of a CAFO, you don't have 100 hogs; you've got 5,000 hogs - and you've got neighborhoods, churches and schools nearby. It's a higher-stakes game."

According to Environmental Protection Agency data, the number of new CAFOs in the United States grew nearly 8% between 2011 and 2017. Tucker said policies need to keep pace.

"We are a very agricultural state and we're proud of that, but just because we want to capitalize on our agricultural resources doesn't mean we should be putting our rural communities at risk in the process," she said. "I think that everyone on both sides of the aisle can agree with that."

She is hopeful that state lawmakers will work on bipartisan solutions to expand IDEM's oversight of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. Indiana has about 800 CAFOs, the eighth-largest number among states.

Disclosure: Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana/Sierra Club contributes to our fund for reporting. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
In 2023, the Biden administration ordered a Bakersfield oil company to remove old oil rigs from Carrizo Plain National Monument in Central California. (Bob Wick/BLM)

Environment

play sound

Groups that fight to protect public lands are criticizing the Trump administration's new review of all oil, gas and mining on public lands. National …


Social Issues

play sound

Minnesota is little less than a year away from launching its paid-leave law, but state lawmakers are debating whether to delay the start until 2027…

Social Issues

play sound

A New York City music school's faculty is back in the classroom after a weeklong strike. The Manhattan School of Music's Precollege Program faculty …


The nonprofit Facing History and Ourselves offers a mini-lesson for teachers about the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack, designed for grades 6-12. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A New York bill would require schools to teach about the Jan. 6 insurrection. The bill calls for all K-12 students to be taught about the event…

Health and Wellness

play sound

An Atlanta-based group is making sure more people have access to an unconventional but effective treatment for their moderate mental health challenges…

Social Issues

play sound

With cost at the forefront of prospective students' minds, higher education institutions in North Carolina are rethinking how to overcome one of the …

Social Issues

play sound

Kentucky's Appalachian counties are expanding efforts to help ensure kids are off to the right start educationally. Research shows attending a high-…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021