Deny the Columbia River Ranch Permit!

Oregon’s Department of Agriculture is accepting public comments on a new factory farm proposed in Central Oregon.

Columbia River Ranch is slated to confine 3,500 cows and will use about 35,000 gallons of water per day in a region already facing drought conditions and water scarcity. This threatens nearby residents' access to clean, safe drinking water. The facility will also produce massive quantities of waste, risking water and air pollution for nearby communities.

That is unacceptable. The strain on water resources and the risk of water pollution is simply too great.

Submit your comment: Tell the Oregon Department of Agriculture to deny the permit application today.

Feel free to personalize the message below to reflect your individual concerns with the proposed facility. Adding original comments will help show the number of people concerned with this facility and ensure your voice is heard.

Your Message

ODA

CAFO

Program

Oregon Department of Agriculture

{contact_data~salutation}

I urge you to deny the Large Tier 2 CAFO permit for Columbia River Ranch.

This proposed factory farm facility for Columbia River Ranch would be sited in the Upper Deschutes Basin groundwater mitigation area, where groundwater use has an impact on surface waters and instream flows. Water usage in the area is carefully monitored to ensure flows for Scenic Waterways and senior water rights are not impacted by new uses. As Central Oregon faces increasing water scarcity due to increasing population and regular drought conditions, it would be irresponsible for the Department to approve a permit for a feedlot seeking 35,000 gallons of water per day in an already strained system. ODA should deny the permit outright unless Columbia River Ranch can obtain water rights – instead of relying on the Deschutes Valley Water District to meet its water needs.

I am also concerned about the facility's proximity to Cove Palisades State Park, where Oregonians recreate on the Deschutes and Crooked Rivers. Having a large feedlot near a state park is an incompatible land use due to potential air and water pollution from the facility.

If ODA does decide to move forward with the permit, it must make several changes to the current permit conditions to ensure that the facility is not using more than the stockwater exempt use amounts and that the permit accurately reflects the facility’s water usage:

- Require Columbia River Ranch to keep records of purchased water, and schedule ODA to regularly verify that the stockwater use does not exceed the exempt amount and water over the 12,000 gallon per day limit is purchased. 
 - Require measurement and record keeping for the exempt stockwatering well to ensure the facility does not exceed the 12,000 gallon/day limit. 
 - Ensure and receive written confirmation from Deschutes Valley Water District that they can in fact serve the site. Specifically, the District should have to confirm that the facility is in their service area, there is appropriate infrastructure, the additional water use fits within the water use estimates of their water master plan, and the additional water usage will not impact other users.

However, even these changes will not adequately protect Oregon’s communities and environment from the proposed CAFO.

I urge you to deny the permit and protect our water from factory farm pollution.

Sincerely,
{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}
{user_data~Address 1} 
{user_data~City}, {user_data~State} {user_data~Ghost Zip Code}

Sincerely,
[First Name] [Last Name]
[Your Address]

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