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6 Envtl. Law. 503 (1999-2000)
Local Regulation of Animal Feeding Operations: Concerns Limits, and Options for Southeastern States

handle is hein.journals/environ6 and id is 513 raw text is: LOCAL REGULATION OF ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS: CONCERNS, LIMITS, AND OPTIONS FOR SOUTHEASTERN STATES by Thomas R. Head, III* Recent growing concerns over agricultural nonpoint source pollution, particularly with respect to animal waste, have led to an increase in regulation of large animal feedlot or feeding operations (AFOs ) at all levels of government. From President Clinton's much heralded Clean Water Action Plan and the United States Department of Agriculture's and the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Unified Strategy for Animal Feeding Operations to state and local regulations and ordinances, AFOs across the country are being identified as a threat to water quality. While the livestock and poultry industries defend the movement from family farm tofactoryfarm, many concerned citizen groups and local governments are now calling for tighter controls to restrict the construction and operation of AFOs. The use of local regulation of AFOs is particularly contentious in the Southeast, where agriculture has been and continues to be a major economic force. The Southeast recently has experienced what many in the Midwest already have encountered-the loss of small, family farms in favor of large, corporate mega-farms. In addition to the serious socio-economic impacts caused by this shift, many predict equally dire environmental effects. While catastrophic spills and odor from large waste lagoons present an obvious problem, the long-term effects of concentrated waste application to agricultural lands and nearby waterways also are a concern. Because federal and state regulations are too lenient, many local governments have taken the initiative to regulate the siting and operation of AFOs within their jurisdictions. On a practical level, opponents of local regulations argue that they are too burdensome and L.L.M. (1999), The George Washington University School of Law; J.D. (1998), Cumberland School of Law, Samford University; M.S. (1995) University of South Alabama; B.S. in Biology (1992), Birmingham-Southern College. Thomas R. Head, III, is an associate at Sirote & Permutt in Birmingham, Alabama, and practices in the firm's Environmental Practice Group.

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