FARM = PROFITS TRUMP PUBLIC-HEALTH DEBATE

Gov. Bob Taft closed the door last week on = meaningful=20 debate over how county officials in Ohio can best protect the = public from=20 health dangers posed by large livestock farms. Over the protests = of many,=20 he signed a bill that makes clear that local officials are powerless to = require=20 licenses or permits "pertaining to manure, insects, rodents or] odor." = The=20 provision was quietly attached as an amendment to a piece of technical=20 legislation at the Ohio Farm Bureau's urging. The larger bill's = original=20 purpose was to bring Ohio law on livestock farms into line with = recently=20 changed federal rules.

The farm lobby was nervous about public-health = officials in=20 Hardin County. The officials had become wise to strategies that some = operations=20 employ to dodge state regulations.

Current law exempts farms that keep less than a threshold = number=20 of livestock (for example, 700 dairy cows, 2,500 pigs, etc.) from having = to take=20 strict preventative measures against dangerous manure spills. Slick = operators=20 keep their numbers just under the threshold.

Hardin County officials started a productive dialogue on how = these=20 loopholes might be filled on a local level. But they were double-crossed = by the=20 corporate farm lobby and state legislators.

The amendment was quietly introduced during the chaotic closing = days of=20 the legislative session. It passed without meaningful debate or=20 reasonable notice to interested parties. Gov. Taft had the power to = restore=20 integrity to the legislative process but he didn't come through.

His office, in fact, was complicit with the fast shuffle. It had = been=20 shown the amendment before it was introduced, but did nothing to solicit = the=20 views of local officials or of people who monitor large livestock = farms.

The Ohio Township Association later learned of the amendment and = asked=20 the governor to veto the bill on the ground that "it severely hinders = the=20 ability of local governments to protect their residents from diseases = and other=20 hazards and nuisances" related to animal feeding facilities.

Gov. Taft's staff concedes public debate was "not = particularly=20 robust." But they claim the governor compensated by hearing all sides = before=20 deciding whether to sign the bill. They say he bent over backward.

Except they admit they didn't make so much as one call to=20 public-health experts or any organization that represents local=20 officials. Why? "They could have called us, but didn't."

What about the letter from the Ohio Township Association? "We = never=20 received it."

The state Agriculture Department regulates livestock farms = and has=20 an advisory committee system that provides an ideal vehicle for public = input on=20 this kind of proposal. The committees weren't contacted or convened.

The Taft people argue that local officials never had authority to = take=20 preventative measures, anyway. They say nothing in the amendment reduces = local=20 officials' power to respond to public-health incidents - in other = words,=20 clean up a mess after the fact.

Many disagree with this view of what local public-health=20 officials' power had been - or should be. The farm lobby, with = Gov.=20 Taft's help, made sure the debate was shut down before it could = be heard.=20

DATE: August 16, 2003	PUBLICATION: Dayton Daily News (OH)=20 EDITION: CITY	SECTION: EDITORIAL=20 PAGE: A12