TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) — New dairies will be prohibited from using so-called flush systems, Gov. Dirk Kempthorne promised Filer residents Tuesday.
"The flushing system does not lend itself for keeping down dairy odor," Kempthorne told about 80 at the Twin Falls airport to discuss dairy odor in the Magic Valley.
Flush systems recirculate water from lagoons to flush manure out of milk barns. The method will not be allowed anywhere in the state whenever a new dairy goes through the permit process, he said.
Kempthorne's visit came nearly 18 months after he first promised he would improve the odor situation.
On Tuesday, Kempthorne said that while some state agencies saw budgets drop 10 to 15 percent over the past two years, he has made it a priority to keep government officials plugging away at dairy odor issues.
He also touted a new "scrape" system that some dairymen are switching to. Proponents of the system say that if it is managed correctly, it produces less stink. Machines move the manure out of the barn and it is eventually applied to the land or injected into the soil.
Hank Hafliger of Desert Rose Farms said he has been using a scrape system all summer in one milk barn, and two more were switched from flush to scrape systems this week.
"We're experimenting with scrape to see if it helps," Haflinger said. "We've really knocked down the odor. I'm proud of the things I've done, and some people will never be satisfied." By July 1, 2002, there had been 1,923 calls to the Agriculture Department to complain about dairy odor. By July 1, 2003, there were only 1,112 for the year, department spokes woman Julie Pipal said. But residents told Kempthorne the phone calls had tapered off because people did not get a response or they were worn out.
Ed Smith, who lives near a Filer dairy, said when people aren't experiencing dairy odor, they're worrying they will.
"The corrective action is too slow, and thus far, ineffective," Smith said. "This is the eighth month of the fourth year."
But Kempthorne maintained progress has been made and the fact he made the trip in person shows his commitment to solving the problem.