We're going on offense to crack down on factory farms
Now is the time to strengthen the Master Matrix.This tool is supposed to provide better community and environmental protections from factory farm pollution – but that hasn’t happened. Instead, the number of factory farms in Iowa is skyrocketing, while our air, water, and neighbors suffer the consequences. The Master Matrix is so easy to pass that it has amounted to little more than a rubber stamp. Applicants only need 50 percent – an “F” by most standards – to pass the master matrix, and DNR records show that only 2.2 percent of applications have been denied. In 2007, DNR conducted its own analysis of the Master Matrix and found that many items are practically always used, while other items are hardly used at all. The industrial livestock industry has grown significantly since the master matrix was first enacted in 2002, and the industry continues to rapidly expand. The Master Matrix is no substitute for local control, but it’s the only tool we have right now. That’s why next week, Iowa CCI is teaming up with Food & Water Watch to file a formal rulemaking petition to strengthen the Master Matrix.
Make your voice heard!Join us for the upcoming Environmental Protection Commission (EPC) meeting to help deliver the petition.
Iowa is in a water quality crisis – but year after year, the legislature has failed to act. We can’t wait any longer. Strengthening the Master Matrix is one thing the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) can do right now outside of the legislature to protect our communities and environment.
This spring, Iowa CCI toured the state and met with over 100 Iowans to discuss what changes they’d like to see in the Master Matrix. We used this input in the petition.
What the petition asks for:
A higher minimum passing score, requiring applicants to earn more of the possible points to obtain a permit.
A one-time enrollment for counties, rather than the current burdensome requirement for counties to readopt the master matrix every year.
Revisions to the point structure to incentivize practices that prevent or mitigate pollution.
New criteria that consider factors currently unaddressed by the matrix, such as karst topography, existing water pollution impairments, and water quality monitoring.
Elimination of criteria that do not provide meaningful environmental or community benefits.
Changes to strengthen existing criteria, such as increased separation distances from schools, homes, public use areas, waterways, and wells.
The Master Matrix shouldn’t just work for the factory farm industry – it should work for us. Help us deliver the rule making petition to strengthen the Master Matrix and crack down on factory farms.
No matter where you live—urban or rural—the Master Matrix affects you.
Now is not the time to sit on the sidelines. Stand up for our water and communities.
Strength in numbers! Show EPC and DNR that Iowans demand stronger factory farm rules.
We can’t wait any longer. This is one thing DNR can change right now outside of the legislature.