Fayetteville Council Opposes Hog Farm Near Buffalo River
By: KOLR10 News with help from KFSM, Fort Smith, Arkansas
Updated: April 11, 2013
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- The city council in Fayetteville, Arkansas is weighing in about a large commercial hog farm close to the Buffalo National River.
Although the hog operation is two counties away from Fayetteville, Council member say they are worried about the impact to tourism in the region.
The 6,500 hog operation is near a tributary of the Buffalo in Newton County.
CBS affiliate KFSM in Fort Smith reports the Fayetteville council will take up a resolution next Tuesday. The resolution, drawn up by the city attorney, states hog droppings have the ability to pollute the river and keep people from canoeing or hiking along the river locally.
KFSM reports the U.S. Farm Services Agency found the hog farm would have no significant impact on the local environment and the river, a claim the City Council's proposed resolution calls "hard to imagine".
Hog Farm Polluting Buffalo River, Resolution Claims
Posted on: 8:27 pm, April 10, 2013, by Shain Bergan, updated on: 08:31pm, April 10, 2013l
A hog farm near a Buffalo National River tributary in Newton County has some members of the Fayetteville City Council fighting against the farm’s operation.
The Fayetteville City Council agreed this week to address a resolution to oppose a 6,500 hog factory farm near Harrison. Although the farm is a few counties away, the proposed resolution claims the factory could poison Buffalo River waters and hurt local tourism revenue.
The resolution, drafted by Fayetteville city attorney Kit Williams, states hog droppings have the ability to pollute the river and keep people from canoeing or hiking along the river locally.
“Hog excrement…smells very much worse than chicken or cow manure,” the resolution states. The state of Arkansas “would never allow a city of 6,500 people to just use lagoons that can easily overflow after a storm and flow into the nearby creek to store and ‘treat’ human waste.”
The U.S. Farm Services Agency found the hog farm would have no significant impact on the local environment and the river, a claim the City Council’s proposed resolution calls “hard to imagine”.
The resolution was co-sponsored by Alderman Sarah Marsh and Mayor Lioneld Jordan. The City Council is scheduled to address the resolution Tuesday.