1/11/07 IDA, ICA sue Gooding County commissioners

The Idaho Dairy Association and the Idaho Cattle Association are suing the Gooding County Commission alleging commissioners are unreasonably regulating dairies and feedlots out of existence. Dairymen's executive director Bob Naerebout said the commissioners were 'way out of line' by imposing harsh new restrictions on dairy and cattle producers. NAEREBOUT "Instead of really looking at the facts and logic and the reasoning they just went off on an emotional basis and they came up with this ordinance that we took the time to have our attorney study, look at, identify the areas where we felt they were erroneous in their decision process and that we could should win in a court of law." Naerebout said they will seek an injunction against parts of the ordinance, especially those dealing with spreading and hauling manure, restrictions on cattle near the Snake and Malad river canyons and limits on the number of animals per acre. NAEREBOUT "The field of waste management is fully occupied and filled by the EPA, DEQ and ISDA and for them to go beyond those regulations just doesn't make sense to us so we want to challenge that." In addition to an injunction IDA and the cattlemen want to be reimbursed for attorney fees and related lawsuit costs. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott