Critics push to improve Iowa matrix
Kelsey Beltramea - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 1/28/08 Section: Metro
With the deadline quickly approaching, officials at the state's Department of Natural Resources are pleased with the number of county leaders that have agreed to use the "master matrix."
A total of 71 county Boards of Supervisors have said they'll use the formula for scoring proposed livestock-confinement locations according to their effect on air, water, and the surrounding community.
But Iowa environmentalists say its time for the 5-year-old evaluation plan to get its own reconstruction.
"I think it's kind of a dull tool," said Susan Heathcote, the water-program director for the Iowa Environmental Council. "I'd like to see us sharpen it to make it more useful."
The master matrix was developed in 2002 at the behest of the state Legislature to better evaluate proposed locations for animal-confinement feeding operations. The list of 44 questions allows producers to earn points for choosing sites and using practices that reduce adverse effects on the environment and community.
Producers must score 50 percent of the points to pass - a standard that needs refurbishing, said Andrew Hug, an environmental advocate for Environment Iowa.
"The master matrix inherently is a good idea," he said. "However, the matrix itself needs to be strengthened and criteria by which animal operation receives passing score needs to be strengthened."
The Johnson County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution in December to use the master matrix this year to evaluate every construction applications, which will then be submitted with a recommendation to Natural Resources.
Legislation drafted in the Iowa House last year had included a provision to revamp master matrix standards, but the bill additionally pushed for a myriad of environmental improvements, such as increased minimum setback distances from confinement operations to other commercial and residential buildings.
Heathcote said she expected a striped down version of the bill, with the matrix updates intact, to be reintroduced this legislative season.
A total of 71 county Boards of Supervisors have said they'll use the formula for scoring proposed livestock-confinement locations according to their effect on air, water, and the surrounding community.
But Iowa environmentalists say its time for the 5-year-old evaluation plan to get its own reconstruction.
"I think it's kind of a dull tool," said Susan Heathcote, the water-program director for the Iowa Environmental Council. "I'd like to see us sharpen it to make it more useful."
The master matrix was developed in 2002 at the behest of the state Legislature to better evaluate proposed locations for animal-confinement feeding operations. The list of 44 questions allows producers to earn points for choosing sites and using practices that reduce adverse effects on the environment and community.
Producers must score 50 percent of the points to pass - a standard that needs refurbishing, said Andrew Hug, an environmental advocate for Environment Iowa.
"The master matrix inherently is a good idea," he said. "However, the matrix itself needs to be strengthened and criteria by which animal operation receives passing score needs to be strengthened."
The Johnson County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution in December to use the master matrix this year to evaluate every construction applications, which will then be submitted with a recommendation to Natural Resources.
Legislation drafted in the Iowa House last year had included a provision to revamp master matrix standards, but the bill additionally pushed for a myriad of environmental improvements, such as increased minimum setback distances from confinement operations to other commercial and residential buildings.
Heathcote said she expected a striped down version of the bill, with the matrix updates intact, to be reintroduced this legislative season.
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