Michigan this week released its new permits for Confined Feeding Operations, or CAFOs.
Both environmental groups and the Michigan Farm Bureau are calling the permits flawed but workable.
The permits oversee how CAFOs dispose of and manage animal waste.
Environmental groups have warned holes in the state’s CAFO permit have exacerbated problems with water pollution and toxic algal blooms.
Gail Philbin is with the Michigan Sierra Club. She said the permit had small improvements - including a ban on applying waste on the ground from January to March but she said ultimately…
“It’s not going to solve the problem. We have this massive problem with nutrient pollution in our Great Lakes. Livestock, agriculture, has a significant portion of the blame for that and this is not addressing it effectively.”
The Michigan Farm Bureau had previously warned the draft version of the permit might put some farmers out of business.
Farm Bureau spokeswoman Laura Campbell said the new permit will undoubtedly make things more difficult for farmers.
“It is at least moving in a direction that is feasible for farmers instead of completely unworkable,” she said.
Both the Farm Bureau and the Sierra Club agreed, however, that the state had made good efforts to hear from a diverse group of stakeholders on the permit.