Globe: Nodler CAFO bill is good start

A bill pre-filed by Sen. Gary Nodler, R-Joplin, designed to stiffen penalties for CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) that violate state pollution standards is a "good start," according to an editorial posted today on the Joplin Globe website:

What remains to be done is an examination by the General Assembly and Department of Natural Resources on developing no-CAFO zones bordering not just state parks but rural housing developments.

But not everything is going to be accomplished in the Legislature. Counties need to put zoning regulations into place. Don’t need such incursions by government, you say? Would you feel the same way if a large hog, chicken or cattle farm goes in next door and changes your quality of life and reduces the resale value of your property? Or how about going in next to a state park that you, your family and friends frequent?

Southwest Missouri has become a CAFO magnet, largely because we lots of empty land and water resources.