Group says hog farm's waste may be leaking into Ark. river

Published: Thursday, May 5, 2016

An Arkansas hog farm that has long been under the scrutiny of environmentalists may be leaking waste into the Buffalo National River, a group aiming to shut the facility said yesterday.

The Buffalo River Watershed Alliance said ongoing tests by university researchers appear to indicate an underground breach in waste ponds at C&H Hog Farm Inc., a 6,500-swine operation in Mount Judea.

The group said it obtained correspondence between federal regulators and the researchers through the Freedom of Information Act that shows some preliminary results.

One of the researchers found evidence of a "major fracture and movement of waste" from testing based on a substance's differing resistance to electricity, known as electrical resistivity, according to an Oct. 16, 2015, email from a U.S. Geological Survey water specialist to a leader at the University of Arkansas' Big Creek Research and Extension Team.

The tests reach as far as 100 feet below ground level, about the depth researchers say they may see evidence of waste moving.

Team leader Andrew Sharpley said their next step was to verify the possible leak and to check whether signs of waste movement are connected to other factors such as changing seasons. The study could last at least five years to ensure accurate findings, he said.

"We want to be sure before we say something," Sharpley said.

The hog farm has given researchers from the University of Arkansas and Oklahoma State University access to the facility for the study.

C&H was involved in litigation related to the Department of Agriculture and the Small Business Administration. A federal judge ruled in 2014 that the agencies approved a financing arrangement without a proper environmental impact review. The Buffalo River Watershed Alliance was one of the plaintiffs in the case (Greenwire, Dec. 3, 2014).

C&H Farms operates the facility through a contract with JBS USA Holdings Inc., the U.S. component of the largest animal protein company in the world. A JBS spokesman had no comment yesterday.

In general, pork producers are "subject to detailed regulation and are leading the nationwide effort to develop additional, science-based regulations" dealing with concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), said the National Pork Producers Council on its website.

"Pork producers share the concerns of all citizens for the protection of the natural resources and are committed to the best management of their pork operations," said the council.

If further testing confirms an underground leak, the next step would be a cleanup of contaminated groundwater, said Gordon Watkins, president of the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance.

Ultimately, he said, the alliance believes the topography of the area -- with fractured and porous limestone formations -- provides a risky setting for CAFOs.

Email: mheller@eenews.net