FREDERICK -- The Frederick County Commission unanimously passed last night Maryland's first moratorium on new large hog-raising feedlots, despite farmers' warnings that the ban could push some of them into bankruptcy.
The one-year moratorium, which takes effect March 26, bans new hog farms of 250 animals or more. Commissioners said their goal is to allow county officials time to draft zoning ordinances that would limit "concentrated animal feeding operations" for hogs -- big feedlots where thousands of animals are raised in tightly packed, enclosed barns. The big operations are spreading nationwide, bringing concerns about smells, water and air pollution.
Said Commissioner Jan H. Gardner: "We have a responsibility to protect the health of our citizens, and we can only do that if we protect our water and air."
Added Commissioner Ilona M. Hogan: "This is a problem that caught this county by surprise and we need to step back and take a look at this."
Similar bans have been passed in counties across the Midwest as residents grow concerned about pollution from hogs, which produce at least three times as much waste as people. In North Carolina, hog waste has contaminated the Neuse River and is believed to have contributed to repeated outbreaks of toxic Pfiesteria piscicida. The state has imposed a moratorium on new large animal feedlots, and officials are trying to determine how to clean up more than 700 abandoned hog-waste lagoons.
Large hog-raising operations have been rare in Maryland. But that began to change last summer, when Frederick County farmer Rodney Harbaugh opened what Maryland officials say is the largest hog farm in the state: 4,000 animals confined in two large barns on a hillside near a clear-running trout stream in Rocky Ridge.
Under the county's right-to-farm ordinance, Harbaugh did not need any local environmental review and did not need to explain to county officials how he would dispose of the 4,000 hogs' manure, which accumulates at an estimated rate of a ton a day.
Under a federal law administered by the Maryland Department of the Environment, large animal feeding operations like Harbaugh's require pollution-control permits, but environmental officials said Harbaugh did not apply for one until his hog-raising operation was under way. The state did not know the facility was open for business until neighbors complained.
Residents of the farm community say the smell of decomposing hog manure is sometimes so intense that it forces them to stay indoors.
"There is a huge difference between the dairy farms Frederick County is known for and the bottom-line industrial processing of animals for slaughter," said Sue Koenig, who lives near the Harbaugh farm. "We want to save farms, but these are not farms, and they should be regulated like the industrial operations that they are."
Local dairy farmer Harold Lenhart of Lewistown said the county's farmers have been forced by falling prices to raise more animals to break even. Lenhart said he started farming 45 years ago with 30 milk cows and today must milk 300 cows to maintain his standard of living.
"These small farms are just not viable today," Lenhart said. "I'll go back to milking 30 cows tomorrow if you people can guarantee me a decent living. But it's just not going to happen. If you keep pushing the rules and regulations on us, we'll all be gone."
Harbaugh, who declined a request for an interview, did not attend last night's hearing. He has recently applied for the required pollution permit.
In the nearby Frederick County town of Foxville, residents complain that a 2,000-hog feedlot also has tainted the air with noxious odors and hurt property values.
Next door in Carroll County, some residents are also up in arms over a proposed 2,000-animal hog-raising operation in Westminster, near an 8-year-old subdivision of $250,000 homes. The residents have asked the county commissioners to pass a moratorium on hog farms with more than 250 animals.
Pub Date: 3/17/99