Should groundwater management districts have statutory authority to require “impermeable liners” on hog waste lagoons?
The weak hog regulatory bill passed by the 1998 state legislature set statutory guidelines that allow hog waste cesspools to leak by as much as inch per day, potentially allowing millions of gallons of hog waste to reach underground aquifers. Researchers from Kansas State University reported to legislators this year that ammonium builds up along the bottoms of hog waste cesspools subjecting groundwater to contamination by nitrates if the cesspools are allowed to dry. They particularly cited the danger from hog waste cesspools that are abandoned. State representative Susan Wagle introduced a bill early in the 1999 session to require “impermeable liners” in all hog waste cesspools. However, House Environment Committee chair Joann Freeborn refused to hold hearings on the bill. Should Kansas have a permanent Commission on Surface Water Quality Standards? A bill passed the House overwhelmingly setting up a permanent surface water quality commission, similar in composition to the 1997 tempor
