Power Line, Hog Farm Similar

About three years ago, AEP/SWEPCO attempted to get regulatory approval to build a massive extra-high-voltage power line through the National Military Park at Pea Ridge, along the White River in Carroll County and through the outskirts of Eureka Springs. The proposal brought a huge outpouring of opposition, and the unfortunate proposal was ultimately withdrawn by the power company after local activists in Eureka Springs, banning together as "Save the Ozarks," proved it wasn't needed in the first place.

That power line would have permanently bisected two portions of the national battlefield and would have damaged that tourist treasure. It also would have slashed an ugly scar across the beautiful landscape of Eureka Springs, one of our state's most valued tourist resources.

There are interesting parallels between the struggles to stop the continued pollution of the Buffalo National River by the notorious C&H Hog Farms, and the efforts that successfully stopped the almost equally notorious SWEPCO power line, one thoughtlessly proposed route of which would have passed in clear view of Thorncrown Chapel, one of the world's most valued architectural treasures.

First of all, both proposals, the hog factory and the power line, were put forth in a thoughtless and irresponsible manner. Secondly, both the power line and hog factory offered direct damages to properties owned by the National Park Service. The National Park Service in both cases expressed strong opposition in the form of letters written to state regulatory agencies, and in both cases received no direct response. The letters from the National Park Service are too compelling to ignore and offer direct scientific evidence of damage to water quality in the park.

I have been (privately) assured that the National Park Service and the state Department of Environmental Quality are meeting privately about coming to some form of resolution of the issue, and it is my sincere hope that "resolution" involves the immediate removal of the hog factory from the tributary waters of the Buffalo National River.

The Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act are both threatened by failure of enforcement of prudent regulations in this case.

According to the Environmental Policy Act guide for citizen involvement, the only way governmental agencies are given the strength to protect public interest is when the public is involved. Save the Ozarks learned that lesson the hard way, by having to raise $150,000 in legal fees and fighting the power line relentlessly on every front. Nearly every citizen in Eureka Springs was involved in some way to make our community's point known.

What is called for in this situation is that we all make our support for the preservation of the Buffalo River National Park clear. Some may care about free-flowing streams in which visitors may safely bathe and partake of the splendors of the "Natural State." Let your concerns lead you to action, please.

Others may be concerned about the loss of economic value. The hog factory may offer some small benefit to the economy of Arkansas. But how can its small impact measure up to the $62 million spent here in the Natural State by the 1.5 million annual visitors to the Buffalo River National Park? Pollution from the hog factory placed in the watershed of our nation's first national river puts the entire tourist economy at risk, even here in the very northwest corner of the state.

Again, let your concerns lead you to act.

I am not asking for anything unreasonable in asking for the hog factory to be closed and removed.

The hog factory is very likely in violation of the Clean Water Act. Research has proven it imperils one of the primary tributaries of the Buffalo River through runoff from manure application fields. Strong evidence from dye-tracing leads researchers to believe ongoing groundwater contamination from the storage lagoons and field application of manure leads to the Buffalo River.

Please call Gov. Asa Hutchinson's office and demand that the hog factory be relocated far, far from the natural state.

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Doug Stowe is vice president of Save the Ozarks. In 2009 he was named an Arkansas Living Treasure by the Arkansas Department of Heritage and the Arkansas Arts Council.

Editorial on 06/04/2016