Iowa wimps out on animal confinement rules, environmentalists complain
Des Moines Register: Environmental activists are criticizing state leaders for failing to strengthen rules overseeing livestock confinement operations to better protect Iowa and its residents, leaving loopholes that allow producers to build small pig facilities near each other to avoid oversight. Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement also asked the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission to require large corporations that own animals raised by local farmers to be “held liable” for environmental fines and penalties assessed in Iowa.