Reject the Symons Livestock Expansion

Oregon’s Department of Agriculture (ODA) is considering yet another factory farm expansion in Central Oregon. More cows means more water – in a region of our state that is already prone to drought.

Symons Livestock aims to almost triple the size of their beef feedlot to 12,500 cows, which means they would consume over 100 million gallons of water every year.

Tell state regulators: Stop pandering to Big Ag, to reject the Symons Livestock permit!

Your Message

ODA

CAFO

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Oregon Department of Agriculture

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I urge you to deny Symons Livestock’s application to expand their facility. 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 expansion for a feedlot that will use over 100 million gallons of water every year.

The industrial-scale Symons feedlot is 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. Even more alarming, Syomons Livestock will pull their water from the Wickiup Reservoir, which ran dry for 5 years and has only started to replenish itself over the last couple years.

ODA opened this comment period for Symons Livestock while the permit for Columbia River Ranch, another proposed large tier 2 facility in Area five, was still open for public comment. I urge you to consider the cumulative impact of allowing one CAFO to dramatically expand while permitting a new facility only 16 miles away.

In addition to the potential of overdrawing groundwater, both of these factory farm facilities threaten to worsen nitrate pollution in nearby waterways, including the Wild and Scenic Crooked and Deschutes Rivers. The increased herd size and associated amounts of liquid and solid waste will likely pollute groundwater due to seepage from land application and waste storage facilities. It will also pollute nearby rivers due to large amounts of groundwater discharge into surface waters in this region and runoff from waste applied to fields. ODA must deny this expansion given these foreseeable impacts to water quality.

Massive beef feedlots also contribute to smog, air pollution, and climate change. Already this fire season, Central Oregon has felt the impacts of worsening climate conditions with the devastating Cram fire that burned almost 100,000 acres. At a time where these climate disasters are the norm, our state agencies should be supporting efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and preserve our scarce water resources, rather than compounding these problems by permitting additional industrial operations that make these conditions worse.

Factory farming is an industry with a long history of pollution and environmental degradation, and we reject the expansion of this industry in our state. I urge you to reject this permit application and prioritize the conservation of our water resources and the wellbeing of our local communities.

Sincerely,

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

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