Harrison Daily Times

ADEQ holds hearing on hog farm request; Modification to waste storage ponds

By DAVID HOLSTED davidh@harrisondaily.com |0 comments

JASPER — Several dozen people, supporters and opponents alike, were in attendance at the Jasper School on April 20 for a hearing concerning the C&H Hog Farm.

The 50-minute, orderly hearing was hosted by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). The purpose was to hear comments on a proposed modification of the farm’s Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) under its Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation General Permit.

C&H Farm, which began operation in 2013, is located near Mt. Judea and handles about 6,500 hogs. The farm is located near Big Creek, a tributary of the Buffalo National River, and several groups have contended that waste from the farm eventually ends up in the Buffalo River. The animal waste is a threat to the environment and to the local tourist trade.

As explained by Ryan Benefeld, deputy director of the ADEQ, the proposed modification will affect on of the farm’s two waste storage ponds. Currently, wastewater from pond 1 is being applied to surrounding land by a combination of a pipeline/sprinkler system and a tanker wagon. Wastewater from pond 2 uses only a pipeline/sprinkler system, but C&H is requesting that a tanker also be allowed.

According to Benefeld, the ADEQ typically does not hold a public hearing for a modification request. However, a public request because of concern about the modification resulted in the Jasper hearing.

Benefeld was asked if the modification would result in change to the volume and frequency of wastewater application.

“We don’t anticipate any change,” Benefeld said. “We’re not expanding the application rate. That won’t change.”

Benefeld further explained that C&H would not need a permit to apply the waste to its own land, but if the waste was applied to a field owned by another person, that person would need a permit.

The hearing attracted several people from outside the area.

Brian Thompson was one of them, coming from Fayetteville. He described himself as retired from a large agricultural firm. He contended that C&H’s NMP was not clear, consistent or complete.

“Clarity, consistency and completion are an ongoing problem,” Thompson said.

He urged the ADEQ to return the application to the applicant for correction, then hold another hearing.

Gordon Watkins, who lives near Parthenon, is president of the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance. He also objected to the modification request. He thought the mapping and land use contracts needed to be corrected, and he contended that the full permit should be reopened.

Jane Darr is president of the North Fork and White Rivers. She drove over from the Mountain Home area to lend support to opponents of the hog farm. Darr noted that the Buffalo River flows into the White River. Water quality was at risk, she said, thereby subjecting the area to economic risks. She also urged a full review of the permit.

The modification was not without its supporters.

Ryan England, a dairy farmer from Bentonville, said he also used a tanker to apply waste to his land, and he followed ADEQ rules. The manure is tested, he said, and the land is tested.

“I think this is ridiculous that they have to do this modification,” England said.

Centerton cattle farmer Bob Shofner also supported C&H Farms. The application of waste to the land was an accepted practice in the agricultural industry, he said. The waste was “all natural organic fertilizer.”

According to Shofner, everything in connection with C&H Farms was done above board, with nothing hidden.

ADEQ staff at the hearing also provided attendees with a 59-page report titled “Monitoring the Sustainable Management of Nutrients on C&H Farm in Big Creek Watershed.” The report was a quarterly study done by the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture’s Big Creek Research and Extension Team.

The report is part of a five-year study, and according to Benefeld, officials haven’t yet seen anything alarming.

Benefeld went on to say that the ADEQ would probably make a decision on the modification request within the next week or two.