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| Proposed 'Livestock Siting' Legislation is an Assault on Democracy. |
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Wisconsin Green Party February 20, 2004 Contact: WI Greens Say Proposed "Livestock Siting" Legislation is an Assault on Democracy: Proposed Legislation Replaces Local Democracy with State Bureaucracy MADISON The Wisconsin Green Party urges legislators to oppose the proposed "livestock siting" legislation. Senator Dale Schultz (Richland Center) and Representative David Ward (Fort Atkinson) proposed legislation, Bill LRB-3453/1, that will create a non-elected livestock facility siting review board. The WI Green Party (WIGP) said this would give a green light to polluting livestock factories and a red light to the democratic process. "This legislation will undermine local control over the zoning, siting and regulation of large-scale livestock factories," said John Peck, Executive Director of Family Farm Defenders. "Local control is the best way for local residents to defend their right to clean air and water," said Peck. The proposed legislation calls for the creation of a livestock siting review board, which could overturn a local government's decision to deny or approve a permit for a livestock factory. "It will basically take away local control and grant final approval for factory farm expansion to an unelected state committee," said Peck. WIGP contends this new state bureaucracy would ignore the opinions of local residents and democraticall elected local officials. "The state review board would not be a board of local residents who understand their community's needs, but rather an unelected board of bureaucrats with little knowledge about local people and their concerns," said Jill Bussiere, WGP Co-Spokesperson and town of Pierce zoning board member. "Land use decisions would no longer be made by the community based on community conditions." In addition, the bill will also arbitrarily restrict the residents' right to appeal. "Only those who live or own land within two miles of the livestock factory are allowed to appeal to the review board," said Peck. "This arbitrary limit discounts the fact that livestock factories can pollute air quality and contaminate waterways that extend far beyond two miles. Residents outside those two miles who breathe polluted air and have to swim and fish in dirty water have no right to appeal. This guarantees that a community would not be able to organize in its own best interest to appeal a decision." WGP promotes the strength of government through grassroots democracy. "The closer the decision-makers are to those who be affected by the decision, the more effective, efficient, and accountable government is," said Bussiere. "This legislation stands in direct opposition to local governments and true democracy." The Wisconsin Green Party stands on the four pillars of Ecological Wisdom, Social Justice, Grassroots Democracy, and Nonviolence. For more information, visit http://www.wisconsingreenparty.org . The Green Party of the United States' website is http://www.gp.org.
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