To the editor,

Recently, our People Protecting Pierce team collected 1,287 signatures from Pierce, and other area counties, citizens on a petition calling for a moratorium on the expansion of Pierce County CAFO’s. We thank each petition signer for their support of the moratorium, and advise them that on Tuesday, July 25, the Pierce County Land Conservation Committee ignored these citizen-signed petitions and inexplicably failed to go forward with this CAFO expansion moratorium (after passing it in June).

The moratorium was intended to put a six-month pause on CAFO expansions while facts/data could be gathered via a groundwater study committee to determine the best path forward on future ordinances that would protect the basic human rights of clean air, land, and water for our citizens.

With the overturning of the moratorium, CAFO’s now have approval from Pierce County to expand at will, while operating only under the outdated requirements of the 2011 waste storage ordinance in effect in Pierce County.

Despite the failure of the moratorium to be passed, the county still plans to proceed with the groundwater study committee. And on a separate issue, the county board is scheduled to discuss/take action on a significantly improved waste storage ordinance at their Aug. 22 meeting. Call your Pierce County Supervisor to express your disappointment about the July 25 moratorium rejection, AND to urge approval of the significantly improved waste storage ordinance on Aug. 22.

Finally, if you have a private water well, get it tested now. This data is needed to provide an accurate picture of the worsening nitrate contamination in our county. Hopefully, the planned groundwater study committee will subsequently be effective in providing facts that ultimately lead to even more effective future operating ordinances to protect the air, land, and water for our Pierce citizens. Stay tuned.

Doug & Nancy Weiss

River Falls