Monthly Archives: May 2016


On the hog factory Opinions differ By Mike Masterson

Arkansasonline  On the hog factoryOpinions differBy Mike Masterson It’s become apparent in light of two editorials published by the newspaper that a number of my valued readers are confused by the difference in tone and approach between what I express in my column and the newspaper’s opinions about coverage of […]


Lacks understanding – NWA Online Letter

NWAonline Lacks understanding As evidenced by two recent editorials in the Democrat-Gazette, it appears that the editorial writers lack understanding of the issues and of the Buffalo River’s importance to the state of Arkansas. The first editorial seemed to imply that, with the decision to do away with the general permit, […]


Buffalo River Currents – Hendrix College Odyssey

Buffalo River Currents CONWAY, Ark. (May 26, 2016) – A dozen Hendrix College students recently spent a week examining the Buffalo National River on an interdisciplinary Odyssey experience that included oral history collection, creative reflection, hiking, and floating, along with more traditional academic work.    The students, who received Odyssey […]


Hog farm must go, and can – Eureka Springs independent

Eureka Springs Independent Hog farm must go, and can May 25, 2016 Editor, It has been three years now since AEP/SWEPCO sent our small town into a tizzy with their injudicious proposal to run a humongous power line through our beautiful community. We successfully fought off SWEPCO’s misanthropic misadventure. About […]


Disappointing stance – BRWA Letter to editors

Arkansasonline Disappointing stance It’s well-known that journalists are trained to be skeptical, but two recent editorials about the hog factory in Mount Judea reveal a flippancy and lack of sensitivity that does not serve the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette well. “About those hog farms” and “No more hog farms” bemoan the ongoing controversy about […]


What’s Beneath Controversial Newton County Swine CAFO? KUAF Radio

Listen here: KUAF Radio – Ozarks At Large What’s Behind Controversial Newton County Swine CAFO? by Jacqueline Froelich The Buffalo River Watershed Alliance has asked the Arkansas Pollution Control & Ecology Commission to shutter a Cargill-integrated swine breeding CAFO on the Buffalo River Watershed, citing possible evidence of pollution stemming from new […]


Stuck on Ignorance – Mike Masterson

What about those multiple plumes of suspicious leakage discovered by an Oklahoma State University geologist deep beneath the clay-lined waste lagoons at C&H Hog Farms at Mount Judea? While Dr. Todd Halihan stopped short of calling the substance hog waste, other knowledgeable scientists say the results imply groundwater contaminants “suggestive […]


Independent Guestatorial – Hog farm full of holes

Eureka Springs Independent Independent Guestatorial – Hog farm full of holes May 11, 2016 Lin Wellford – On Friday, April 29, the Arkansas Dept. of Pollution Control and Ecology commission met in Little Rock. I was there to make a formal comment questioning the wisdom of allowing C&H Hog Farms to […]


Findings raise questions By Mike Masterson

Arkansasonline Findings raise questionsBy Mike Masterson How’s it possible that Oklahoma State University geologist Todd Halihan discovered likely evidence of raw hog waste seeping deep into the karst-laden subsurface and groundwater beneath the hog factory at Mount Judea without state environmental agencies, the governor and Arkansans learning of it for […]


Hog feeding operation’s peril to Buffalo River – Ark. Times

Hog feeding operation’s peril to Buffalo River Posted By Max Brantley on Tue, May 3, 2016 at 7:39 AM Richard Mays, a Heber Springs lawyer with a career of work in environmental law, has shared with me a presentation he made last week to the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission on findings that suggest the C […]


Testimony of pollution – Mike Masterson

Testimony of pollution  Of serious concern By Mike Masterson This article was published today at 2:29 a.m. The year’s most significant meeting of the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission occurred last Friday in Little Rock. Most Arkansans would agree as they learn the alarming news Richard Mays presented there. Mays […]


Hog farm will test vaporizer – Democrat-Gazette

Hog farm will test vaporizer But not enough waste to install it, Florida company says By Emily Walkenhorst The Florida company planning to vaporize manure at a Mount Judea hog farm will test the equipment but will not permanently install it, the company president said last week. Plasma Energy Group will […]


Pollution board: End permits how? – Democrat-Gazette

Arkansasonline Environment notebook By Emily Walkenhorst Pollution board: End permits how? The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality will look into how it can discontinue the farm permitting program that it announced Thursday it would no longer offer, department Director Becky Keogh said Friday. Administrative Law Judge Charles Moulton of the Arkansas […]