CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - County officials in Wyoming have postponed making a final decision on a land use regulation change that would open the door for a South Dakota company to build a wild horse facility.
The Laramie County Board of Commissioners decided to wait before voting on a change that would affect any future projects deemed concentrated animal feeding operations, including Equine Elite’s proposed facility in Burns, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported.
Any current projects must have the approval of neighbors within a 3-mile (5-kilometer) radius but the proposed changes would only require neighbors within a mile to approve, commissioners said.
Commissioners are waiting for more information on an Odor Footprint Tool developed at the University of Nebraska, county officials said. University staff are scheduled in March to report how the tool might be implemented in the county.
The tool would provide science-based information on the risk-based impact of odors generated by livestock facilities and help them determine a good distance for required neighbor approval, commissioners said.
Equine Elite wants to build a corral which would hold wild horses captured by the Bureau of Land Management, which would pay the company for every day a horse is held, officials said. The horses would stay for a year or two before being adopted or transferred to an off-range pasture with more room, department spokesman Jason Lutterman said.
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