CAFO "Good Character" Ammendment Passes

(Passing this along from Rae Schnapp, Wabash Riverkeeper with the Hoosier Environmental Council. "CAFO" refers to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. CAFOs are a significant risk to both human health and the environment and they are collectively driving out the "family farm." Not to mention the ethical questions involved in factory farming in terms of the treatment of livestock. - KJH)

In a close vote (45 to 47 along party lines), the CAFO amendment described below passed. Now SB 200 carries the Good Character provision, so please urge your Representative to support this common-sense bill.

(and below, from an earlier release):

Representative Ryan Dvorak of St. Joseph County is expected to offer an amendment to SB200 on second reading in the Indiana House of Representatives TODAY.

In a nutshell, this amendment seeks to ensure that CAFO applicants provide:

1) disclosure of any previous violations and

2) a financial assurance package.

To view the full amendment, go to http://www.in.gov/legislative/bills/2008/HAMF/MO020004.002.html

To find your Representative's email address, go to http://www.in.gov/legislative/legislators/listing.html

If you don't know who your Representative is, go to http://www.in.gov/apps/sos/legislator/search/