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Residents, company and commissioners press for vote on proposed swine facility amid water worries
Summary
Residents and business leaders urged the Ottawa County Commission to vote on a proposed swine facility after petitioners reported 207 signatures and presenters cited groundwater nitrate risks; county officials said the petition was informal and under legal review.
Residents, business leaders and a citizen presenter pressed the Ottawa County Commission on Aug. 4 to act on a proposed swine facility, raising groundwater and community-notice concerns and asking commissioners to put the issue to a vote.
Brandon Copple told the commission he was concerned "that a certain farmer is getting first rights to the waste" from the hog farm and suggested farmers who accept the waste be bonded through the county to provide safeguards in case of accidents. Later, Kirsten Rodenbeek told the commission a neighborhood group had gathered 207 signatures in a few days and urged the commissioners to vote on the proposal and let citizens have a vote afterward. Commissioner Scott Mortimer asked whether the county attorney had reviewed the petition; Kathy Scharplaz said the petition had been given to the County Attorney but described it as an informal petition.
Tescott resident Jeremiah Van Doren warned that scale and groundwater-discharge issues raise particular concern, citing KDHE data that "150 communities in Kansas are already at or above safe nitrate levels in their water," and saying Kansas ranks second in the nation for contaminated land. Van Doren referenced K.S.A. 17-908 and noted a governor-appointed task force on state water established July 9 as part of broader state attention to water quality.
Scott Longfellow, chief operating officer of G.L. Huyett, described the company’s ties to the region and urged the commission to vote on the matter. Longfellow pointed to maps showing upstream water flows that could be affected by groundwater discharge, noted gaps in Kansas land-use rules such as limited post-appeal soil-test requirements, and raised air and road-impact concerns based on experience living near a hog operation. Commissioner Carla Grund said she had called nearby cities that use reverse osmosis systems; she reported that Clay Center installed RO for high iron and magnesium and Abilene for nitrate issues related to cattle near their wells, and said her site visit to a Herrington facility did not produce a detectable odor at the entrance gate.
The commission did not take a formal vote on the swine facility during the Aug. 4 meeting. Mortimer requested confirmation of legal review and staff follow-up on the petition and related technical materials.
