Senate advances CAFO bill after 12-hour debate

(Missourinet) The state Senate has given initial approval to a measure that would ban Missouri counties from enforcing regulations stricter than the state for large animal feeding operations. The upper chamber spent about twelve hours on the measure Monday evening and into breakfast time on Tuesday.

Sen. Mike Bernskoetter, R-Jefferson City, wants to ban counties from restricting where concentrated animal feeding operations, known as CAFOs, can be built and adopting rules to roll back environmental regulations.

“Instead of having a hodge podge of counties with different rules and different ordinances, we’ll have a statewide agricultural policy,” says Bernskoetter.

About 20 Missouri counties have health ordinances for hazardous smells and downstream pollution from CAFOs.

Sens. Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur, and Mike Cierpiot, R-Lee’s Summit, say local governmental bodies should control such regulations, not the state.

“I’m not anti-CAFO. I mean the efficiency of them is the way things have developed. They’re here to stay. It’s a good way of producing food,” says Cierpiot.

“Well, it’s a more efficient way of producing food. The question is always, well what do you give up in that process? One of the things you do is you provide a cheaper product,” says Schupp.

“I’m just bothered by what we’re trying to do here by pre-empting these counties,” Cierpiot says.

The measure needs one more positive vote to head to the House.