Letter Read by Donna H. Ramsay at Brookings County Commission Brookings, South Dakota 8 June 2004 Ladies and Gentlemen:
Brookings County apparently joined this “economic development” bandwagon, extolling the many outstanding qualities of the region that make Brookings County a fine place to live, work, and raise families. Unfortunately, some of the very attributes that have contributed to the valued rural character of the county—the pristine air, clean and plentiful water, dedicated, successful institutions and community facilities--all cared for and supported by a stable, hard-working, honest population—are also being pressured by heavy burdens generated by this development. One example of this problem is reflected by the costly impact on the vital transportation infrastructure of townships. The network of local roads--designed, built, and maintained to serve the farm-to-market needs of traditional farming businesses--is simply not adequate to absorb the inordinate, constant demands of industrial agricultural operations. Township Boards are beginning to realize the enormous ramifications accompanying the government-supported industrial agricultural campaign. By encouraging huge dairies and other Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) to locate anywhere within a County, regardless of the availability or compatibility of necessary infrastructure facilities and services, the Government has, in effect and practice, forced all property owners in the Township to subsidize the business ventures of a tiny, apparently well-financed minority. This does not seem fair to me. Roads are absolutely essential to these industries. An operational industrial dairy demands reliable, high-quality, year-round maintenance of all roads leading to the site. The impact on township roads is severe and unrelenting, typically consuming far more resources than are generated by the site’s property taxes. No longer are property owners confident that common community burdens, such as road maintenance taxes, are being shouldered equitably. No longer do “old” neighbors unquestioningly trust “new” neighbors to protect the precious, finite resources of this fertile and prosperous land. And no longer can we in Brookings County simply choose to ignore the long-term effects of these industrial-scale activities—continually touted by many as “economic development”. Urban property owners, protected by zoning laws strictly limiting industrial development to areas where the community is least negatively impacted, seem assured that local government will require and/or provide and maintain appropriate infrastructure to accommodate intensive development. The costs of these projects are then borne by the industry or the entire community—a much larger population and wealthier tax base than an agricultural township populated by few people. I believe that rural taxpayers have the right to expect the same governmental response to community well-being, environmental protection, and provision of necessary infrastructure for industrial development as urban areas—but especially when the government is promoting the development! Therefore, I suggest the County Commission implement policies to specifically address these issues. Regarding CAFOs, and similar operations, I believe they should be required to be located on roads built and maintained by the government level promoting the industrial development. That action alone would truly spread the financial burden/benefit of maintaining access to CAFOs—with the attendant “economic development”, environmental impact, increased traffic, nutrient [manure] management ‘opportunities’, and so on--to far more property owners—instead of to just those unfortunate neighbors who were already located in the township long before the CAFO arrived. Further, a serious dilemma now exists: either the Commission tackles the rapidly growing problem and determines how to provide fair, tangible, and immediate support for the rural township infrastructure system already so adversely impacted, while preparing for the road needs of the very near future….. Or, it must decide to publicly renounce support of industrial-scale agricultural development, such as the huge dairies and other CAFOs, whose endless infrastructure demands will undoubtedly absorb and unfairly consume what should be available to the vast majority of rural property owners in Brookings County. Right now, I don’t
see how you would be able to do both.
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