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July 15, 2016
FREMONT, NE In response to the proposed construction of a Costco-owned chicken processing plant in Fremont, Nebraska, two national experts will be on hand July 18th to speak about two major public concerns; water safety and quality of life.
- Kathy Martin, a civil engineer, who has over 25 years of experience in wastewater management, environmental permitting and lagoon operations associated with agricultural and heavy industry
- Don Stull, Professor Emeritus at University of Kansas, is an author and lecturer on socio-economic impacts on Rural America from the meat and poultry industry.
The community discussion will be on Monday, July 18th from 6:00-8:00pm at the Woodcliff Community Center at Woodcliff Lakes (980 County Road W, Fremont, NE).
The informational town hall meeting is being sponsored by Socially Responsible Agricultural Project, Nebraska Communities United, Bold Nebraska and GC Resolve.
We have worked on projects like this all across the nation, and one thing is clear: Industrial animal operations do not improve communities, they harm them, said Laura Krebsbach, a Regional Representative with Socially Responsible Agricultural Project. This meeting will help the Fremont community better understand the upcoming process and what needs to be done to challenge the risks and false promises that Project Rawhide represents.
Our organization continues to seek answers on several outstanding issues pertaining to Project Rawhide, said Randy Ruppert, President of Nebraska Communities United. If we cannot get our questions answered in front of the Fremont City Council, we will continue to bring in experts who can inform our community on these unresolved issues. We’re grateful to have these two speakers in Fremont to engage with our community members.
Water is Nebraska’s most valuable commodity, said Amy Schaffer, Executive Director of Bold Nebraska. Before we develop new industrial-scale infrastructure in our state’s communities, we’re going to ensure we completely understand the upcoming process, an confirm for the community that there are no shortcuts taking place.
Now is the time for us to be asking the tough questions, said Graham Christensen, President of GC Resolve. Through good community dialogue our area will be more informed on how to address critical issues that pertain to projects of this size and scale. We do not want to make the mistakes other communities have made accepting large-scale poultry operations. We can learn from the past to make better choice for our Nebraska communities.