Ag groups sue over feedlot mandates
Legal action revolves around Jerome County moratorium
Friday, December 28, 2007 11:32 AM PST
BOISE (AP) — The Idaho Dairyman’s Association and Idaho Cattle Association have filed a lawsuit over the six-month extension of an emergency moratorium passed by Jerome County that prevents new confined-animal feeding operations.
In the suit filed Wednesday in 5th District Court, the groups say the county in south-central Idaho violated state law by extending the moratorium on Nov. 6 without public hearings and notices of public hearings.
The six-month moratorium was initially passed on May 15. The two groups argue that state law requires a year between identical moratoriums unless public hearings are held.
‘‘It’s bad enough that livestock producers have to operate in an increasingly complex regulatory environment,’’ said Josh Tewalt, executive vice president of the Idaho Cattle Association. ‘‘Now our county leaders are doing an end run around the law.’’
Jerome County Prosecutor Michael Seib said he hadn’t seen the lawsuit, but it didn’t surprise him.
‘‘There were rumblings they were going to do that,’’ he said.
Of Idaho’s nearly 500,000 cows, about 70 percent are in southern Idaho. But county boards have become more concerned about health concerns and quality-of-life questions for area residents with the burgeoning industry, and some have taken regulatory action.
The lawsuit accuses the Jerome County Planning and Zoning Commission of failing to hold public hearings, and of not making a recommendation to the County Commission as required by law.
The lawsuit also says that county commissioners did not hold public hearings before extending the moratorium on Nov. 6.
‘‘We don’t sue at the drop of a hat,’’ said Bob Naerebout, executive director of the Idaho Dairymen’s Association. ‘‘But we have no other choice when our elected officials don’t follow the law.’’
Nearby Gooding County has also passed ordinances restricting feedlots. In October, the two groups sued that county, arguing that new county ordinances there are so strict they will force the livestock industry out of the county.
