Webster County supervisors approve recommendation letter for Summit Farms confinement permit with odor-control condition

The Webster County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve a recommendation letter supporting a construction-permit application from Summit Farms Corp. LLC for a proposed swine confinement in Section 2 of Jackson Township, subject to a county-request that electrostatic fencing be installed and operated before any animals occupy the barns.

The action followed a staff presentation that the Iowa Department of Natural Resources had completed a site evaluation and given the proposed project a master-matrix score of 460. Jeff Johnson, planning and zoning administrator, told the board that "site data concludes there is no well within 100 feet, no public use within 4,001 feet, no weapons within 2,000 feet, and no protected waters within 2,000 feet," and recommended the board approve the permit application.

The recommendation letter approved by the board asks the applicant to install electrostatic fencing adjacent to the ventilation fans and to maintain the fencing during operation; staff said the fencing would be required "prior to any animals occupying the buildings." The board also discussed encouraging the applicant to plant trees around the barns as a visual and odor buffer.

Why it matters: The proposal prompted multiple written and oral objections from residents who said the facility could harm air and…