OPINION MIKE MASTERSON: Good for GuvAgainst SB550 I was pleased, as were many across Arkansas, to see our governor step forward the other day to effectively sidetrack that terrible bill (SB550) by Sen. Gary Stubblefield, which would have handed regulatory authority over hog factories by the EPA-qualified Arkansas Department of […]
BRENDA BLAGG: Constant vigilanceBill to change farm regulation earns oppositionby Brenda Blagg | Today at 1:00 a.m. State lawmakers are getting an earful these days on legislation that would change how hog farms are permitted in this state. They should be. Credit the long-running travails of a controversial hog farm near the […]
NWA EDITORIAL: Protect the BuffaloWhile you’re at it, do it for entire state by NWA Democrat-Gazette | Today at 1:00 a.m. Virtually every perspective on the biggest issues known to humans has been boiled down to a few words and printed on bumper stickers. What will we do when self-driving […]
Arkansasonline Arkansas governor calls for postponing hog-farm bill Federal agency is looking at measure, Hutchinson says by Emily Walkenhorst Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Monday that he hopes state lawmakers don’t proceed with a bill that would change how concentrated animal feeding operations, namely hog farms, would be permitted. Given that […]
Arkansasonline Governor says lawmakers should pull bill that would change how Arkansas farms get permits by Emily Walkenhorst Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he wants state lawmakers to pull a bill that would change how hog farms and other farms are permitted. In a meeting with reporters on Monday afternoon, Hutchinson […]
Arkansas Times The clean water fight puts spotlight on agency not up to the task Posted By Max Brantley on Mon, Mar 25, 2019 at 7:27 AM The Farm Bureau has assembled a mighty rural lobbying force to transfer regulation of liquid animal waste (pig manure particularly) from the Department of Environmental Quality to the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, which isn’t always able to […]
Talk Business Gov. Hutchinson: Not ‘right time’ to transfer control of state’s animal waste program from ADEQ by Wesley Brown ([email protected]) Gov. Asa Hutchinson told reporters on Monday (March 25) that he does not a support a controversial proposal approved by the Arkansas Senate last week that will transfer oversight of liquid […]
MASTERSON ONLINE: Senate and Farm Bureau in lockstep by Mike Masterson | Today at 1:56 a.m. Wow! Did you see how most of our elected senators fell right into lockstep last week with former dairy farmer Senator Gary Stubblefield’s terrible bill (aka the Superfluous Stubblefield Stinker) who is carrying water for the […]
Protect environment Everyone who breathes air and drinks water cares about Arkansas Senate Bill 550–which would transfer hog and other farm permitting authority from one state agency to another and allow people applying for manure waste system permits to waive public notification requirements–no matter what work you do or how […]
Protect our resources Please stop Senate Bill 550. We must protect all water quality in Arkansas. Protecting the Buffalo and its watershed is important on so many levels. But this bill will put all Arkansas watersheds, rivers, lakes and streams in jeopardy. This bill, backed of course by the powerful shortsighted Farm Bureau of which we […]
Bill to change how Arkansas farms get permits draws EPA review Effect on federal rules, enforcement seen at issue in state-authority switch by Emily Walkenhorst | Today at 4:30 a.m. Federal environmental regulators are reviewing an Arkansas Senate bill that would change how hog farms and other farms are permitted, concerned that […]
Arkansas Times Governor expresses resistance to shift of pig waste regulation Posted By Max Brantley on Thu, Mar 21, 2019 at 3:23 PM Gov. Asa Hutchinson has weighed in with resistance to the Farm Bureau legislation to ease regulation of liquid animal waste from the likes of factory hog farms by shifting oversight from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality to the farmer-friendly Arkansas […]
KATV LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — An effort to move regulatory authority on liquid livestock waste permits over to another state entity is causing a stink at the Arkansas State Capitol. SB550, filed by Rep. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, would transfer permitting authority from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality to the Arkansas […]
KATV Liquid livestock waste permit transfer causing a stink at the Arkansas Capitol by Marine Glisovic LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — An effort to move regulatory authority on liquid livestock waste permits over to another state entity is causing a stink at the Arkansas State Capitol. SB550, filed by Rep. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, […]
Arkansasonline Arkansas farm-permits bill progresses; authority shift given Senate nod by Emily Walkenhorst A bill that would transfer hog and other farm permitting authority from one state agency to another passed in the Arkansas Senate on Tuesday after a brief discussion over whether the bill says what its sponsor claims it […]
Fayetteville Flyer Fayetteville City Council votes to oppose Senate animal farm bill By Todd Gill The Fayetteville City Council on Tuesday voiced its opposition to a proposed Senate bill that would change the way animal farm permits are handled in Arkansas. The council voted 6-0 to support a resolution to oppose […]
Greed over ecology Good gobbledygook! They walk among us and sit in the state Legislature. Just when we feel that the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality has gotten the message about hog waste, porous limestone and the resulting harm to the our nationally treasured Buffalo River, the self-servers that walk […]
MIKE MASTERSON: A real stinkerby Mike Masterson | Today at 2:15 a.m. Senate Bill 550, sponsored by state Sen. Gary Stubblefield, a former dairy farmer from Branch, aims to replace the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality’s permitting system for hog factories with a far less demanding “certification” process by the Natural Resources […]
JOHN BRUMMETT: Listen to the experts, Gusby John Brummett | Today at 4:30 a.m. Lonesome Dove is an epic novel and a masterpiece in the television miniseries genre. Augustus McCrae leaps from the pages and screen to charm and inspire with his cad’s exterior and hero’s heart. But those were the 1870s. The […]
MIKE MASTERSON: End run in Ledge Did you read about the latest legislative end run around the existing authority responsible for issuing permits to meat-raising facilities like C&H Hog Farms in Newton County? Turning into law Sen. Gary Stubblefield’s Senate Bill 550–which would transfer the authority for approval of concentrated […]