Greenwire
Federal loan for Ark. hog farm violated NEPA, judge rules
Tiffany Stecker, E&E reporter
Published: Wednesday, December 3, 2014
A federal judge ruled yesterday that the Department of Agriculture and the Small Business Administration violated environmental laws by providing $3.6 million in federal loans to a sprawling hog farm in northwest Arkansas.
Judge D. Price Marshall in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas faulted the agencies for providing loans to C&H Hog Farms Inc., whose 6,500 swine are near a tributary of the Buffalo National River.
At issue is C&H's successful 2012 application for $3.6 million in loans from Farm Credit Services of Western Arkansas. Farm Credit needed additional assurances and applied for loan guarantees from the Small Business Administration and the Farm Service Agency.
SBA guaranteed about 75 percent of a $2.3 million Farm Credit loan without assessing the farm's impact on the environment, Marshall said.
Although FSA reviewed documents from state environmental regulators and sought guidance from the Fish and Wildlife Service, the farm agency misstated or left out crucial information in its environmental impact statement. FSA backed 90 percent of a $1.3 million loan.
"We are hopeful that the court's decision will result in a more thorough consideration by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration of the effects this swine facility, and others like it, have on local communities as well as on national treasures like the Buffalo River," said a statement from Dane Schumacher, a board member of the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance.
The alliance was a plaintiff in the case with the Arkansas Canoe Club, National Parks Conservation Association and Ozark Society. The Buffalo River Watershed Alliance was represented by the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice.
The plaintiffs said the agencies violated the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act and other laws by not carrying out a full environmental impact statement before issuing the loan guarantees. Large animal-feeding operations can potentially release manure in streams, adding nutrients to the water that promote the growth of harmful algae blooms.
The conservation groups filed suit in August 2013, before the farm opened. Justice Department attorney Barclay Samford said that the farm satisfied environmental assessment requirements under an animal feeding operation permit issued by the state of Arkansas. The permit requires the operators to conduct soil quality testing and respect a buffer zone between the farm and the waterway.
The state has the authority to determine the environmental assessment in this case, said Michael Formica, chief environmental counsel with the National Pork Producers Council, which was not involved in this case. In addition, the 6,500-head figure is misleading, as 4,000 of those are piglets who will not stay on the farm.
FSA declined to comment on the decision.
SBA is consulting with DOJ on whether to appeal, said Miguel Ayala, a spokesman for the agency