An HEC backed bill (Senate Bill 316) that would strengthen state oversight of factory farms and grant greater authority to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to deny a CAFO permit if it would harm human health or the environment has been introduced in the senate. Unfortunately, the Bill has been assigned to the CAFO-friendly Senate Committee on Agriculture where it is uncertain if it will receive a hearing!
That’s why we need your help to convince the committee Chair Sen. Jean Leising (R-Oldenburg) and Vice Chair Sen. Susan Glick (R-LaGrange) to give this bill the committee hearing it needs to move forward in the senate!
PLEASE CONTACT YOUR STATE SENATORS – SEN. DAVID LONG (R-Fort Wayne), SEN. ANDY ZAY (R-Huntington), OR SEN. LIZ BROWN (R- Fort Wayne) TODAY AND ASK THEM TO URGE SENATORS LEISING AND GLICK TO SCHEDULE A COMMITTEE HEARING ON SB 316.
Feb. 2014: Latest information for Little River Wetlands Project / Eagle Marsh: 1) Focus Areas 2 – Other Pathways for Invasive Species MAPS CLICK 2) US Corp of Engineers update from August 14, 2013 Focus on alternatives H and I
3) Local update from the News Sentinel
Your voice DOES matter!
Other Legislative Updates:
Feb 3rd was the last day bills can be voted on in the House and sent to Senate. Feb 5th is the latest day bills can be sent from the Senate to the House. Then we will start the process over with the Committee Hearings.
Click on bill versions to see the roll call of vote. You may want to email your Senator and thank them or email them your concern. They will know people are watching how they vote. Also, if you attend any Town Hall Meetings where Legislators are present, you will be a well informed citizen. In my humble opinion, we all need to watch more closely and hold our Legislators accountable for their voting record and when it is time to vote in the next election to remember how they voted. We are all part of the Legislative process, however, it does take time and energy to contribute to the process.
Senate Bill 404 is the canned hunting bill. I can never understand why anyone thinks it is sport to contain animals in a fenced area and then shoot them and think it is sport. It is a business and I would think Indiana could have better economic development plans than canned hunting. This bill will be up for second reading on Monday. If you have concerns regarding this bill, please call or email your Senator.
Senate Bill 101 the former ag-gag bill is now just a trespass bill. However, it will be interesting to see if the House makes an attempt to amend the bill back to ag-gag http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2014/bills/senate/101
House Bills
Bills of concern not heard in Committee in the House were H Bill 1191 and 1200. Both have companion bills that will be coming from the Senate.
Legislators seem so willing to give our State Rights to the Federal Government? If this bill becomes law, the citizens will lose their rights to have stakeholders on both side work for better regulations. The bill passed the House. We have many unique situations in Indiana and we should never lose our right to the Federal Government and be caught up in the bureaucracy of government.
IMPORTANT STUDY -PLEASE SEE THAT YOUR LEGISLATORS AND COUNTY OFFICIALS HAVE THIS STUDY.
Increasing nitrogen inputs from fertilizer application have contributed to greater agricultural outputs in the last 50 years. They have also resulted in the release of nitrogen to the environment, in particular through emissions of ammonia (NH3) to the atmosphere. In the U.S. it’s estimated that ∼25% of the nitrogen used as fertilizer is lost to the atmosphere as ammonia (NH3), costing farmers ∼6 billion US$ a−1. Beyond the direct economic liability, this makes agriculture the largest source of NH3 to the atmosphere with important consequences for human health, ecosystems, and climate.3−5
