(Spirit Lake)– There’s been a major development today (Fri.) in the fight against a large hog confinement being built southwest of Milford.
In a letter to lawyers, the Dickinson County Board of Supervisors and Albert Gerhardt, who was issued the permit, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources says there were “procedural deficiencies” surrounding the issuance of the permit. The D-N-R says it was issued through “miscommunication and oversight”.
The agency admits to three wrong doings: that it failed to publish a notice that an application had been received that would have included procedures for providing public comments to the board of supervisors; that there was an inaccurate legal description on the notice of intent to issue the permit; and that there was an inadequate notice of the site inspection.
The letter says the D-N-R will send a copy of the original construction permit application and amendments early next week to the board of supervisors so they can re-start the process under Iowa code. The letter also states that once the proper procedures have been followed and the comment period has been extended, the department will consider at an administrative hearing whether the deficiencies in the procedure have been cured and whether there is any ground on which the permit should be revoked.
The letter is signed by D-N-R Director Jeff Vonk.
