Arkansas Times

Group presses state for action on Buffalo watershed hog farm

Posted By Max Brantley on Tue, Sep 22, 2015 at 1:35 PM

The Buffalo River Watershed Alliance continues to press the state Department of Environmental Quality for action on the hog farm in Mount Judea on a tributary of the Buffalo River.

In a letter to department director Becky Keogh, the Alliance makes a formal complaint that the department should study the impact of a 6,500-hog feeding operation on the environment. The letter says past requests for study had been met only with promises of continued study. The letter also said it had found no evidence the C & H Hog Farm had obtained the required permits for construction of the ponds to hold hog waste.

The letter faults the department for inadequate response to sampling by the University of Arkansas that could indicate permit violations. The letter lists experts who've found environmental harm from the operation. It concludes the department should hold a hearing on the matter, whether the department decides to reopen the permits granted for the operation or not. Said the letter:

Our clients are prepared to show that there have been violations of the permit, that it was obtained through misrepresentation and failure to disclose all relevant facts, and that it continues to pose a danger to human health and the environment. Its continued operation is a threat to neighboring residents, property and business owners in its vicinity, students of the nearby Mount Judea school and the more than 1.3 million eople who visit the Buffalo National River each year.

I've asked for a response from ADEQ.

Here's the letter to ADEQ. 

UPDATE from ADEQ:

The letter is under review at this time.