More CAFO in Attorney General race
If yesterday’s snazzy flash video from State Rep. Jeff Harris wasn’t enough CAFO for you, there’s more today.
Harris, a Democratic running for Attorney General, is promoting his stance for tighter controls on “concentrated animal feeding operations,” agriculture set-ups that pack a lot of livestock in a small place. They also pose a potential risk to the environment - all of that waste has to go somewhere.
“Jeff Harris is the only candidate for Attorney General with a plan to give local communities control over CAFOs,” Harris’ Web spot claims. Margaret Donnelly, a Democratic rival, “doesn’t have a plan to deal with CAFOs,” the piece claims.
That seems to be only half-true.
Harris, who represents Columbia, is sponsoring legislation that would expand the number of surrounding landowners that must be notified before a CAFO can be built.
But, as PubDef reported yesterday, Donnelly, of Richmond Heights, does have a plan - it’s the same as Harris. Donnelly is one of eight co-sponsors on Harris’ CAFO bill.
“I’m puzzled as to why Rep. Harris is saying I have no plan. My record has been clear that I support local control,” Donnelly told PubDef. “I was just surprised he would make that statement.”
Harris and Donnelly: Same CAFO plan?
As I said on another post on this blog I am a biased Jeff Harris supporter who worked for him when he worked for Jay. Jeff’s proposal is a good proposal. I think Jeff should get credit for coming up with a couple of pieces of great ideas on how to deal with CAFOs. If you go to Jeff’s website you will find that newspapers thorughout the state have written favorably about his proposal. These articles can be found at
http://www.electjeffharris.com/news/newsclips.php
Jack maybe I am misguided or am not so smart but I really believe Jeff Harris is the finest public servant I have ever met. He went to Cornell and was on law review. He came to Jefferson City from Kansas City and took a far more than six figure pay cut.
Jeff has a number of good proposals dealing with open government, subprime mortgages, the no call list, campaign finance reform, crime prevention, consumer protection, cybercrimes and banning spam. The scope and quality of these proposals is good. Again at his website you can find a number of editorials and articles which mention these proposals. http://www.electjeffharris.com/news/newsclips.php
I really believe Jeff is going to hit the ground running from day one and he will be the best attorney general the state has ever had.
I thought the editorial from the Joplin Globe on Jeff’s CAFO bills was especially good. Not often a democrat gets favorable treeatment down there. Please read it and see if Jeff is on the right track. Thank you.
Bill gives boot to CAFOs
Joplin Globe
Editorial
Friday, February 29, 2008
Big ag will take proposals by state Rep. Jeff Harris as a slap in the face.
Don’t.
Take them rather as a boot to the butt.
Harris, D-Columbia, wants to give rural residents power to block confined animal-feeding operations near their property. House Bill 1931 would allow them to use the initiative-petition process to put approval of a proposed CAFO to a public vote.
The need for this is so self-evident it doesn’t even require justification.
One can’t wander too far around Southwest Missouri before discovering that factory farms have overplayed their hand at the expense of neighbors’ property values, our environment and quality of life.
House Bill 909, meanwhile, would prohibit CAFOs near state parks and historic sites by setting up a five-mile buffer. Arrow Rock and the Battle of Athens state historic sites already are threatened by hog CAFOs, and a 65,600 chicken CAFO already is operating not far from Roaring River State Park.
Other states have moved to protect their crown jewels — Oklahoma has 3-mile buffer around state parks for hog farms, for example. California put a 2.5-mile collar around one of its historic sites and some Indiana legislators want to keep CAFOs at least one mile from all schools, hospitals and daycare centers. That puts CAFOs in the same lineup as drug dealers and child molesters, by the way.
Five miles sounds like a lot of ground to lock away, especially when you consider the number of parks and historic sites in Missouri, and the size of some of them, such as the KATY trail. But Missouri is not Oklahoma or California.
The porous nature of the Ozarks means water often travels for miles before bursting out of the ground at Roaring River, Bennett or Montauk springs — which are the heart of three of the state’s most popular parks. Water travels as much as 12 miles underground before surfacing at Roaring River. The recharge basin for Montauk, headwaters of the Current River, is 82 square miles. Dye tracings find water moving 15 to 20 miles before surfacing at Bennett Springs.
Like we said, big ag is going to take this as a slap in the face.
They’ll want a compromise.
As far as we’re concerned, five miles is the compromise. The initiative petition is the compromise.
In point of fact, we think the time has come for a moratorium on all CAFOs in Missouri. Until then, we’ll win the ground where we can.
I am biased because I worked for Jeff when he worked for Jay in the attorney general’s office. I have never met a finer person in public service than Jeff Harris. He is honorable and smart. He went to an Ivy League law school and was on law review. He took an enormous pay cut to enter public service.
The CAFO proposals have been favorably received by nemwspapers throughout the state including papers in Joplin, Springfield, Hannibal and Booneville.
He has a number of very good proposals on what he will do as attorney general on open government, predatory lending, consumer protection, crime prevention and internet privacy.
You can find many positive editorials and articles at http://www.electjeffharris.com/news/newsclips.php
I really believe Jeff will hit the ground running and will be the best attorney general the state has ever had.
Here is the editorial the Joplin Globe did on Jeff’s CAFO proposals. See if you agree.
Bill gives boot to CAFOs
Joplin Globe
Editorial
Friday, February 29, 2008
Big ag will take proposals by state Rep. Jeff Harris as a slap in the face.
Don’t.
Take them rather as a boot to the butt.
Harris, D-Columbia, wants to give rural residents power to block confined animal-feeding operations near their property. House Bill 1931 would allow them to use the initiative-petition process to put approval of a proposed CAFO to a public vote.
The need for this is so self-evident it doesn’t even require justification.
One can’t wander too far around Southwest Missouri before discovering that factory farms have overplayed their hand at the expense of neighbors’ property values, our environment and quality of life.
House Bill 909, meanwhile, would prohibit CAFOs near state parks and historic sites by setting up a five-mile buffer. Arrow Rock and the Battle of Athens state historic sites already are threatened by hog CAFOs, and a 65,600 chicken CAFO already is operating not far from Roaring River State Park.
Other states have moved to protect their crown jewels — Oklahoma has 3-mile buffer around state parks for hog farms, for example. California put a 2.5-mile collar around one of its historic sites and some Indiana legislators want to keep CAFOs at least one mile from all schools, hospitals and daycare centers. That puts CAFOs in the same lineup as drug dealers and child molesters, by the way.
Five miles sounds like a lot of ground to lock away, especially when you consider the number of parks and historic sites in Missouri, and the size of some of them, such as the KATY trail. But Missouri is not Oklahoma or California.
The porous nature of the Ozarks means water often travels for miles before bursting out of the ground at Roaring River, Bennett or Montauk springs — which are the heart of three of the state’s most popular parks. Water travels as much as 12 miles underground before surfacing at Roaring River. The recharge basin for Montauk, headwaters of the Current River, is 82 square miles. Dye tracings find water moving 15 to 20 miles before surfacing at Bennett Springs.
Like we said, big ag is going to take this as a slap in the face.
They’ll want a compromise.
As far as we’re concerned, five miles is the compromise. The initiative petition is the compromise.
In point of fact, we think the time has come for a moratorium on all CAFOs in Missouri. Until then, we’ll win the ground where we can.
Well I do know that Harris is only popular thru his dad’s patient’s in the Columbia area .I do feel Margaret Donnally is the best qualified for working familes and that’s what Missouri needs. I do remember when several Cattlemen’s Association went to jail in MIssouri years back for rustling and sales. To me its all about We the People of MIssouri where I live and animals need the back of the truck in these times……As far as Koster please oh and with Ald Gregali off probation I am sure he’s a real help for Jeff Harrs’s campaign but then he’s into different kind of animal the egoistical kind hahaha and always needs a lawyer for something. Check out Margaret Donnally she knows better for Missouri as next Attorney General Thanks
You know Jeff’s game good so do you know Gregali’s involvement with him and why?
I will post it again, This is a stupid fight. Donnelly has a bill beefing up product safety in Missouri. Harris didnt sign on nor does he have a “plan” on the issue. Does that mean he wants children to eat lead off of toys and to die in shoddy cribs? Of course not. The attack on Donnelly is weak and unnecessary. He has a great bill and he should stick to the positives and knock those who oppose it — Koster.
fortunately there is 4th candidate in the race, so Harris wont have to come in last.
That Harris is quite a looker! Whew! I’ll vote for him because of his tremendous dedication to the issues he has brought forth.
So let me get this straight … Harris filed a bill, Donnelly agreed with it and signed on as a co-sponsor, so that means Donnelly has “no plan.” But if she had filed her own bill - which, since she agrees with Harris’s bill, would presumably be substantially the same - then she WOULD have “her own plan.” I agree, this is grade school bickering.