AEHI land should not be rezoned

Dear editor:

The farm which AEHI is seeking to rezone to M-2 Heavy Industrial should not be rezoned because of its topography, soil type, and close proximity to the Snake River.

I leased this property and grew peppermint on the south portion of this farm during the 2007 growmg season. This is a hilly, up and down farm, criss-crossed by many small ravines. It has a rich, fine sandy loam soil but it is difficult to keep irrigation water from running off of the property.

The current farm manager is doing an excellent job of farming and keeping irrigation run-off to a minimum. However, one can observe alluvial fans of sediment that developed during the establishment of the current crop of alfalfa as well as numerous channels that currently gather and discharge irrigation run-off water.

This run-off flows into two watersheds, a ravine along the western side of the farm and Chalk Gulch on the eastern boundary. Both watersheds flow south, dropping precipitously and discharging directly into the Snake River.

This farm is not a place to have any kind of industrial complex. Any substance, manufactured, spilled, or stored will eventually make its way to the Snake River.

AEHI's plan to produce and store nuclear waste at this site seems ill advised.

Dale Hooley