Environmental notebook

Comment extended on large hog farm

The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality has extended the public comment period on the draft operating permit for C&H Hog Farms for 20 days.

The department will now accept comments through 4:30 p.m. April 6, according to a notice published by the department. The comment period was originally scheduled to end last Friday.

The department had received requests to extend the comment period.

C&H Hog Farms Inc., near Mount Judea in Newton County, sits on Big Creek about 6 miles from where it converges with the Buffalo National River. It is the only federally classified large hog farm in the river's watershed, which has typically been home to several small hog farms, and is currently permitted to house up to 6,000 piglets and 2,503 sows.

The new permit indicates the facility would house up to six boars of about 450 pounds, 2,672 sows of at least 400 pounds and 750 piglets of about 14 pounds and estimates that the two waste-holding ponds would contain up to 2,337,074 gallons of hog manure, similar to what is contained now. Additional waste and wastewater will be applied over certain sites as fertilizer.