RUGBY - Pierce County officials are considering a proposed 7,500-hog farrowing business.

The county's Planning and Zoning Commission and the state Health Department held public hearings on the proposal Thursday.

"This is going to bring in $600,000 to $725,000 a year," said John Ford of Rugby. "This is something we desperately need. Even the low-end jobs are something we need. We can't walk away from an influx of jobs."

Kermit Peters, a former Wolford resident now living in Devils Lake, said that if the business is built, odor filters should go in immediately. He said trees should be in place before any hogs arrive.

"It's a fairly desolate area, but what if this was in Anamoose or near Rugby?" Peters said.

Gary Larson, a Pierce County organic farmer living downwind of the site, presented a petition signed by nearby residents against the operation.

"The first thing I'd like to do is ask for a show of hands of who wants to trade places with me," Larson said. "I see no hands. I feel imprisoned on my own farm."

Larry and Carlan Slaubaugh of Wolford are seeking a building permit from the county. Cando Mayor Jim Gibbens, who owns Dakota Country Swine and Hexagon 1 hog operations in the Cando area, has applied for the health department permit.

Planning and zoning commissioners said they will analyze the data and wait for a Health Department decision, which could take up to a month.

Matt Klingenstein, an environmental engineer for the state Health Department, said health officials will analyze comments from Thursday's hearing and try to address any environmental issues.

Klingenstein said the proposed Pierce County business, called Hexagon 2, will have 6,094 sows at an average weight of 375 pounds and 1,500 nursery pigs at an average of 35 pounds, with seven barns.

The proposed 1,638-acre site is nine miles east and a half-mile south of Wolford in Union Township, near the Towner County line.

Klingenstein said the site is 33 miles from Mauvais Coulee, which drains into Devils Lake, but said the soil is favorable.

"Leaching shouldn't be an issue because it's (manure) going into 2-foot pits," Klingenstein said. "It has a capacity for 365 days of manure. It has to contain a 100-year, 24-hour storm."

Klingenstein said the site will produce about 9,475 gallons of manure per day, which translates into 606 pounds of nitrogen, 468 pounds of potassium and 459 pounds of phosphorus per day. Annually, it adds up to 6.99 million gallons of manure; 221,224 pounds of nitrogen, 170,700 pounds of potassium and 167,489 pounds of phosphorus.

Leeds area resident Harriet Bracken asked Klingenstein about the ammonia smell.

"The operator will manage the facility to minimize the impact of the odors," Klingenstein said. "The manure will be injected (as fertilizer) according to state health department requirements."

Barb Price, of the Dakota Resource Council, said groundwater monitoring wells should be required. She worried about a threat to the nearby Lake Alice National Wildlife Refuge.

Paul Overby said the Health Department should keep records of manure management and make them public.

"It would be nice to trust, but in this day and age, it's about profit," Overby said. "I don't know who to trust."

Judy Ziegler of Minot, who owns land in the area, also said the business should be inspected often and the smell should be closely monitored. She said she opposes any factory hog farm in North Dakota.

"The health issues and stench are disgusting, let alone right down the road," Ziegler said.

Gibbens said the planning and zoning commission toured the two Cando-area sites and that Hexagon 2, in Pierce County, will be a clone of the Hexagon 1 facility east of Cando. He said commissioners told him the operation was clean and neat and that the smell was not as bad as they thought. He said 42 full-time jobs have been created.

Klingenstein said a minor manure spill at the Cando operation in late July was cleaned up.

"Certainly, we're concerned like everyone else," Gibbens said. "But we are confident in our plan that complies with all health department regulations. And we're also confident that our plan meets with all Pierce County regulations, and if not, we will change to come into compliance."