Jefferson City Trippin'

January 12, 2017 The last days have been intense! On January 10 (Tuesday), a group called Missourians for Local Control hosted a meet-and-greet event at the capitol in Jeff City and it was a great success. The timing was perfect—the morning after the inauguration of our new Governor Greitens. So the legislators and senators were all in a great mood and came to our donut stand with big smiles. We were able to explain to them that “local control” means the government closer to the people—city governments and county governments. In other words, we are saying that the laws they pass shouldn’t interfere with the ability of counties and cities to govern themselves. Missouri, after all, is a very diverse state. In St. Louis County, there’s little agriculture, and with land super expensive there won’t be much in the future. So they don’t have to worry about the pollution and expenses of industrial agriculture that hits rural counties. But, on the other hand, in rural counties, we don’t have to worry about the pollution and expenses of intensely dense populations. So, obviously, state laws need to leave local control alone! All the lawmakers on my list—Rs and Ds—were enthusiastic about our message AND about our donuts! The next lobby day will be February 14, Valentine’s Day, and I’m looking forward to giving out heart-shaped cookies with “We love local control” on them! Then, on Wednesday morning, the Clean Water Commission met and discussed the case of Friends of Responsible Agriculture against the DNR. I have to admit that I don’t breathe during these hearings and court cases—is that a sign of stress? I am completely involved in the arguments of the lawyers and policy wonks for and against Concentrated Animals Feeding Operations (CAFOs) to the point that I don’t hear or see anything else. So, at this meeting, one commissioner (out of seven) was absent and two had to recuse themselves from voting on the CAFO permit because of a judge’s order. So that left four commissioners to vote. They voted 2-2 to deny the permit. That meant that the process fails because the law says it needs a 4-person vote. So, perhaps, it will be taken up in a future meeting. But Callaway Farrowing, the Iowa company that wants the CAFO, has already filed for an appeal case in Missouri Appellate Court. So we'll be back in court soon... Another permit—R N R—was voted on and the two recused commissioners could vote on it but the end was 3-3, another failure. So, bottom line, there were two turn-downs even though there had been no CAFO permits turned down in recent memory. In fact, when I asked DNR what group had asked for a hearing last, they checked their records back to 2002 and found none. So, able at last to breathe, I drove to Columbia and took up my usual Wednesday—playing music with my friends and hosting a radio program on KOPN 89.l5 fm. I would definitely link to the article that was on the front page of the Fulton Sun tonight, but I can't find it on=line yet! When it comes on, I'll link to it...