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The Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission met this morning and enacted a renewed 180-day moratorium on permitting new medium or large animal feeding operations in the Buffalo River Watershed. This was the third time the Commission has voted to place a temporary ban on any new industrial hog operations in the Buffalo River Watershed. |
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“Today’s decision will prevent additional industrial hog farms from opening in the watershed for another 180 days while we continue to work on rulemaking that will protect the Buffalo River for the long term,” said Barry Haas of the Arkansas Public Policy Panel Board.
“We are thankful that Governor Hutchinson supports protections for The Buffalo National River, the crown jewel of Arkansas’ natural heritage and an economic engine,” Haas added. “We look forward to working with the Administration and the General Assembly to ensure this state treasure is protected for future generations.”
The Arkansas Public Policy Panel and the Ozark Society initiated a third-party rulemaking in April of 2014 to prohibit any future medium and large swine CAFOs in the Buffalo River Watershed. The original moratorium, adopted in April of 2014 and then extended in October of 2014, was enacted to allow for the initiation and potential adoption of the proposed rule changes.
The rulemaking has garnered wide public support. More than 2,000 public comments were submitted to the Department of Environmental Quality during the comment period. However, the Legislature has yet to grant approval of the rulemaking to move forward. Legislative Committees met in September and December of 2014 to review the proposed changes but did not grant review or issue approval of the changes. Gov. Hutchinson released a statement on Wednesday in support of continuing the moratorium while the rulemaking is still in progress.
The rulemaking does not affect the one operating industrial hog farm in the Buffalo River Watershed, C&H Hog Farm. We do not believe the permit for C&H should have been issued, but it is beyond the constitutional authority of the Governor or PC&E to revoke that permit at this stage. We trust though that the Governor, PC&E and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality will invest the resources to monitor C&H closely and hold them to the highest accountability permissible by law should they violate conditions of their permit.
The proposed rule changes would protect the area surrounding the first National River from threats to public health, water quality and economic destruction that would be posed by citing numerous industrial hog operations in this unique landscape. Visitors come from all over the state and nation to enjoy the pristine water and explore the natural wonders in this Watershed. In 2012 tourism in Arkansas accounted for a $5.76 billion positive economic impact and employed 58,452 people.[1] The Buffalo River attracted 1,093,083 visitors who spend $43.78 million in communities surrounding the river.[2] Direct spending from visitors to the Buffalo employed 610 people in 2012.[3]
 [1] Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism Annual Report 2013.http://www.arkansas.com/!userfiles/editor/docs/apt-2013-annual-report.pdf[2] 2012 National Park Visitor Spending Effects. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Natural Resource Report NPS/NRSS/EQD/NRR-2014/765. http://www.nature.nps.gov/socialscience/docs/NPSVSE2012_final_nrss.pdf[3] id.
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