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90_HR0110
LRB9005566DPcwA
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, HHI Holdings (HHI) of Alden, Iowa, through its
3 subsidiary, Heartland Pork Enterprises (Heartland), has
4 proposed to construct and operate a hog confinement facility
5 housing 3,200 or more sows, comprising over 1,200 animal
6 units, in Butler Township of Vermilion County; and
7 WHEREAS, The proposed site of this hog confinement
8 facility is located in the watershed of Sugar Creek, a
9 tributary of the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River which
10 flows through the Middle Fork Forest Preserve of the
11 Champaign County Forest Preserve District at a point
12 approximately 5 stream miles above the Middle Fork Forest
13 Preserve; and
14 WHEREAS, Due to soil conditions and drainage on the
15 proposed site, pollution arising from a catastrophic failure
16 of the proposed livestock waste management facilities,
17 intensive rainfall events, or normal manure spreading can
18 directly enter the drainage of Sugar Creek without
19 attenuation in the soil; and
20 WHEREAS, Such pollution could severely harm the water
21 quality and ecology of Sugar Creek and the Middle Fork of the
22 Vermilion River, could significantly harm the character,
23 ecological integrity, and recreational value of the Middle
24 Fork Forest Preserve, and may be irremediable for an extended
25 period; and
26 WHEREAS, Construction and operation of the proposed
27 facility will proceed under the emergency livestock waste
28 rules and not under the more comprehensive rules proposed to
29 implement the Livestock Management Facilities Act; therefore,
30 be it
31 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
-2- LRB9005566DPcwA
1 NINETIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
2 respectfully request that the Governor appoint a panel,
3 independent from the Department of Agriculture, to review the
4 proposed construction and future operation of the Heartland
5 hog confinement facility; and be it further
6 RESOLVED, That the panel shall be composed of 7 members
7 to be appointed by the Governor; the panel shall consider, at
8 a minimum, the suitability of constructing and operating the
9 proposed hog confinement facility in view of the soil and
10 drainage characteristics of the proposed site, the impacts on
11 the environmental quality of the Middle Fork Forest Preserve
12 and the watershed of the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River,
13 and the extent to which HHI and Heartland have considered
14 alternative locations and have taken measures in prevention
15 of surface water pollution; and be it further
16 RESOLVED, That the panel shall report its conclusions and
17 recommendations regarding the Heartland facility to the
18 Governor and the General Assembly before May 15, 1997; and be
19 it further
20 RESOLVED, That before January 1, 1998, the panel shall
21 recommend to the Governor and the General Assembly
22 improvements in the Livestock Management Facilities Act and
23 its rules; and be it further
24 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
25 forwarded to the Governor, HHI Holdings, and Heartland Pork
26 Enterprises.