Oppose ACRE Legislation
ACRE Legislation Would Help Factory Farms Strong-Arm Local GovernmentsPennsylvania’s communities could soon be further handicapped
in their ability to protect their residents from factory farm pollution.
Legislation has been introduced as part of the ACRE (Agriculture,
Communities and the Rural Environment) Initiative, that would establish
a panel of political appointees to determine the legality of local
ordinances limiting concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).
The legislation could come for a vote within the next week. HB 1646, which has been referred to the House Agriculture Committee, would establish a five-member Agriculture Review Board (ARB) that would be empowered to overturn local municipal rules that were developed to protect public health, the environment and quality of life from the threats presented by large-scale animal factory farms. The ARB would consist of the Secretaries of the Departments of Agriculture, Environmental Protection, and Community and Economic Development, Dean of Agricultural Sciences from Penn State and a gubernatorial appointee. The Department of Agriculture would defend, and the Attorney General would enforce, the ARB’s final adjudication. Any farmer would be able to request ARB review of an ordinance. Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolff has called municipal restrictions on agricultural practices a “large problem for Pennsylvania agriculture”, and has touted the ACRE proposal as a way to provide relief from burdensome litigation to agricultural operations. Addressing a recent meeting of Westmoreland County township supervisors, Wolff noted, “Through ACRE, our goal is to balance legitimate business interests of the agriculture industry with the environmental and community concerns of local citizens and elected leaders. ACRE will help resolve some of the interface issues that occur when the non-farm community meets production agriculture.” The Pennsylvania Chapter has urged the Rendell administration to back away from what we see as a seriously flawed approach to the problem. While the ARB review process is described by proponents as a way to enable communities and agricultural interests to resolve conflicts out of court, the reality is just the opposite. In fact, an unelected body would rule on any ordinances that agricultural interests chose to challenge, and local governments would be forced to defend in court their efforts to safeguard their communities. The construct pits one level of government directly against another, as the Attorney General would be charged with enforcing the ARB’s decision. The financial burden for litigation would be shifted onto local governments. Pennsylvania has a relatively weak system to regulate the environmental and public health threats from animal factory farms. While it is true that minimal improvements in state regulations have been proposed, they fall far short of what is needed. Local governments, closest to their constituents, are last line of defense against the assaults on the quality of life, the lowering of property values, threats to public health, and sustainable family farms. In Pennsylvania, land use planning has been moving, surely at a glacial pace, in the direction of enabling local communities to identify sensitive resources and undertake planning as to protect them. This ACRE legislation, heavily backed by CAFO industry, would push in the opposite direction, giving the upper hand to CAFOs against local ordinances aimed at protecting natural resources and community health. It would also further disadvantage small farmers, making it easier for CAFOs to strong-arm their way into communities, undermining the viability of smaller, sustainable farms. Of course, the long-term and best answer to this problem is to recognize that CAFOs are based on unsustainable practices and that Pennsylvania should not be bowing to their pressure and giving them carte blanche to drive out small, sustainably operated farms and foul our environment. Mega-sized animal factories should be treated as the industrial operations that they are. They should not be afforded “rights” to harm air and water quality and public health. What you can do:Please contact your Representative and urge her/him to oppose HB 11646, the ACRE legislation, or any other proposal that would serve to weaken local governments' ability to protect communities from the growing dangers represented by animal factory farms. HB 1646 could have a vote in the House Agriculture Committee by June 21, and on the floor of the House shortly thereafter. For more information , contact us at Pennsylvania.chapter@sierraclub.org Attached to this message is the letter Sierra Club has delivered to House members, asking for their opposition to HB 1646. Feel free to use information from the letter in your communications with your Rep. Click here for letter to send to legislators (.doc format) Thanks for your support! Return to Issues page Sierra Club® and "Explore,
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