Lovely County Citizen 

Letter to Editor

Hogwash!

Every day we see vehicles laden with canoes and kayaks destined for the Buffalo River. They spend time (and money) in Eureka Springs because of the loveliness of this place and we're on the way to the loveliness of that. 

So to think it's OK to build hog factories in the watershed of the Buffalo River viewed from the standpoint of our local tourist economy would be raw stupidity of the first order. The National Park Service statistics indicate that 1.6 million guests visit the Buffalo National River each year, contributing over $62 million to the local economy. How much of that money is actually spent in Eureka Springs is hard to measure, but when looking at the bottom line, to lose any amount of money from our local economy simply because the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) feels it's OK to allow a hog factory on a major tributary of the Buffalo National River is dead wrong. 

One thing that we learned from our Save the Ozarks experience is that bureaucratic agencies and the corporations they are supposed to regulate are cozy with each other like they wake up in the same bed. And bureaucrats in one agency, whether state or federal, are extremely hesitant to interfere with the decisions made by other agencies' bureaucrats unless they are challenged by the people to do so. 

The Citizen's Guide to the National Environmental Policy Act insists that governmental agencies are empowered to enforce the law, and stand up for citizens' rights to such things as clean water, when the people stand up and take action in protection of their own rights. 

Last week, I called the governor's office to ask them to close the hog farm. I was shuffled off to the voicemail of the man in charge of veterans affairs who then did not return my call. But I'll try again, and I hope you will, too. The phone number for Governor Asa Hutchinson's office is: (501) 682-2345 -- Doug Stowe