Senate Bill 431 also would require the state chemist to certify, train and educate manure applicators; establish good character disclosure requirements for such farms (known as confined feeding operations and concentrated animal feeding operations), and require notices to be published in newspapers when new CFOs and CAFOs are proposed.

The bill was criticized during a legislative conference committee hearing on Tuesday by rural residents, the Hoosier Environmental Council, some lawmakers from East Central Indiana and the Indiana State Poultry Association (ISPA).

ISPA executive vice president Paul Brennan’s objection to the proposed fees angered committee chairwoman Sen. Beverly Gard, R-Greenfield, who said after the hearing, “No matter how low we get the fees, he doesn’t like it, and I’ve had it, as you could tell.”

Gard told Brennan the $850,000 a year in fees to be raised from CFOs and CAFOs would have been higher if lawmakers hadn’t decided to budget $450,000 a year in state funds to help pay for increased inspections.

“We don’t like the fees, but we’re holding our nose and accepting them,” Bob Kraft from Farm Bureau told the committee. “You will hear some flak from farmers. We’ll try to provide you some cover.”