Okay, but ...
'Hognitive' dissonance
By Mike Masterson

I'm no psychologist, yet it strikes me our state is roiling in a state of cognitive (I prefer hognitive) dissonance when it comes to the controversial and divisive C&H Hog Farms it allowed into the Buffalo National River watershed.
I'll explain. First off, our state in 2012 allowed this factory containing up to 6,500 sows and their offspring to set up shop along Big Creek, a major tributary of the country's first national river.
Not only did the state issue the factory's permit in such an inappropriate location, but our Department of Environmental Quality (cough) actually went out of its way to give permission through its new, less-restrictive General Permit, then seemingly cleared all hurdles in what became a quiet push toward rapid approval.
The deal was done so quickly and darned near silently that not even the National Park Service or the Department of Environmental Quality's own local regulatory officers in nearby Jasper knew it was finished until it was. The state agency's own former director said she didn't know her staff had issued the permit until it had been. The way this piggy permit greased through the state's permitting process stretches my boundaries of logic and reason.
Then the approval became public knowledge and an enormous, sustained after-the-fact public stink arose that began with a detailed complaint by the National Park Service.
How other than hognitive dissonance could I best describe the new and admirable five-year-ban on any new hog factories in the Buffalo National River watershed approved by our Legislature and the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission?
So sometime this month, this ban on any other concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) planting themselves in this unique watershed will take effect. The entire region is underlain by the limestone-riddled Boone karst formation, which readily transfers subsurface water through cracks and caves in all directions for great distances. The majestic Buffalo flows about six miles downstream.
But the ban doesn't affect C&H because, well, the same state that now has banned others exactly like it due to the very real possibility they could pollute our national river with hog waste also issued the permit and blessings to spew millions of gallons of raw waste along so-called spray fields.
In some instances those fields border Big Creek and come within a short distance of the Mount Judea school. In addition, the state's permit allows the two hog waste ponds to leak up to 5,000 gallons of the stuff for each acre.
State geoscientists and the National Park Service already are documenting notably elevated levels of microbes and bacteria in groundwaters between C&H and the Buffalo, especially during heavy rainfall.
We taxpayers are shelling out $750,000 over five years so a University of Arkansas geoscience team (more state) can monitor the levels of waste flowing from this (state-approved) factory in a now CAFO-banned region. That, in itself, strike anyone else as dissonant?
Imagine all this state effort, and state money, and state testing, and state legislation and state time to ensure this single hog factory, which the Arkansas "Environmental Quality" folks today would ban from the watershed because of possible waste contamination, yet remains while generating millions of gallons of waste annually in that sacred place.
Some believe the factory is being, and has been, coddled for political reasons. Oh, surely they are misguided! One thing, however, is certain in my pork-chopped mind. The mishandling of this mess constitutes an acute and expensive hogitive dissonance that could have been easily avoided back in 2012 if the justifiable concerns and restrictions had been in place that exist today.
 
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Mike Masterson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at mikemasterson10@hotmail.com.
Editorial on 09/06/2015

Arkansas Times

Group says new hog farm environmental review flawed

Posted By Max Brantley on Fri, Sep 4, 2015 at 1:00 PM

A new environmental assessment of the C and H factory hog farm in the Buffalo River watershed is "significantly flawed." So says theBuffalo River Coalition, which is fighting the waste-producing operation in the pollution susceptible territory.

The new assessment followed a lawsuit in which a federal judge found the first review by federal agencies guaranteeing loans for the hog feeding operation insufficient.

The Coalition wants a thorough review that "does not ignore facts and science," according to a headline on its news release. You can read their filing here. The news release follows:

Buffalo River Coalition submits comments to federal agencies calling for thorough environmental review that does not ignore facts and science

Little Rock, Arkansas – Today the Buffalo River Coalition submitted comments detailing significant flaws and omissions in an Environmental Assessment prepared by two federal agencies to determine impacts of an industrial hog factory located in the Buffalo River watershed. In December 2014, an Arkansas federal court found that federal loan guarantees approved by the Farm Service Agency and Small Business Administration that enabled the C&H Hog operation to be built just six miles upstream of the Buffalo National River — the country’s first national river and a beloved national park — violated laws to protect our nation’s natural resources. The court ordered the two agencies to revisit their process and prepare a new Environmental Assessment within a year.
The new draft Environmental Assessment is substantially flawed. The Buffalo River Coalition, which includes the Ozark Society, the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance, the Arkansas Canoe Club and the National Parks Conservation Association, note in their comments that the assessment ignores key facts and science showing the potential for significant adverse impacts from this 6,500-swine facility. The assessment fails to consider the facility’s impacts on water resources, air emissions, and on the public health and quality of life of local communities and the nearby Buffalo National River.

The coalition comments call for the Farm Service Agency and Small Business Administration to go back to the drawing board and conduct a full Environmental Impact Statement that considers ALL available science and data. The coalition is calling for the agencies to take a hard look at the impacts of what more than 2.6 million gallons of waste a year from the massive hog operation, in karst setting and in a sensitive watershed, is having on the region. Additionally, the agencies must consider the odor and air quality impact on human health and the local communities and the impacts on national park resources at the Buffalo National River, which attracts nearly 1.5 million visitors annually who spend more than $50 million in nearby communities.

Concerns from the Buffalo River Coalition include:

“I believe that the draft Environmental Assessment erroneously asks us to take a “Don’t worry, be happy” approach to the negative impacts of the C & H factory on water quality in Big Creek and the Buffalo National River.” stated Alan Nye, President of the Ozark Society. “There are serious problems with the draft report, including its failure to appreciate the karst geology of the factory location and the fields to which the hog waste is applied. Further, we view the Big Creek Research and Extension Team’s Big Creek water testing indicating higher nitrate concentrations downstream of the C & H factory to be a potential water quality impact from the factory.”

"This assessment cherry-picks data which supports its no-impact conclusions while ignoring contradictory information," said Gordon Watkins, President of the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance. "The Big Creek Research and Extension Team (BCRET) is claimed to be "the best available scientific information," yet the assessment selectively ignores BCRET data indicating possible contamination of well water, ground water and Big Creek, and the presence of porous karst subsurface features. Most glaringly, it ignores extensive scientific data from other sources, such as the National Park Service, Dr. Van Brahana and other experts in the field — data that strongly suggest that C&H is indeed potentially impacting surface and groundwater including both Big Creek and the Buffalo River. This assessment barely gives a passing glance at potential environmental impacts, much less takes the "hard look" required by the court."

“This assessment ignores water quality data that the National Park Service has been monitoring and collecting for more than two years, showing that potential impacts to water resources near the Buffalo National River are evident,” said Emily Jones, senior program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association. “We must continue our work to keep the water quality safe for people to swim, fish, and float at Buffalo National River.”
“The assessment is not only incomplete but also incorrect,” said Bob Allen, President, Piney Creeks Chapter of the Arkansas Canoe Club. “Data from the Oklahoma State University resistivity testing clearly show that the facility and spray fields are underlain with karst, and Big Creek Research and Extension Team studies show both nutrient and bacterial pollution of Big Creek. Combined, this shows a threat to the health of the Buffalo National River downstream and several endangered species in the area.” 

Hannah Chang, attorney with Earthjustice, the public interest environmental law firm that represented the Coalition in court and on the comments: “All eyes are on these two federal agencies as they go back and engage in the public process and undertake the consideration of impacts that the court found they had failed to do in the first place. There is ample scientific evidence showing potential significant impacts from this hog facility, and the agencies must consider that in order to comply with the law.

Hog Factory Threatens Fish and Wildlife on Buffalo River - National Wildlife Federation

National Wildlife Federation

9/3/2015 // By Kelly Wagner

In a natural wonderland in northwestern Arkansas, the Buffalo National Scenic River runs through picturesque terrain that serves as a home to a number of endangered species, including the Gray Bat. But now, a massive hog factory poses an ecosystem and health challenge, threatening the well-being of local fish and wildlife.

America’s First National Scenic River

The free-flowing Buffalo River and the surrounding land is cherished by wildlife watchers, anglers and canoers alike. The river runs through woodlands, awe-inspiring bluffs, and hollows for 135 miles as it flows eastward through protected wilderness as America’s first national scenic river. Four species under the Endangered Species Act call this area home.

The river is an extraordinary area for wildlife watching—fifty different mammal species can be found in the area. While hiking or canoeing, you may spot a black bear in the woods or view a mountain lion traversing a variety of habitat. You may see Elk relaxing under shade trees along the river in the summer. Evidence of other large mammals such as bobcats and coyotes can also be found.

Bad Location

Creating a massive hog factory within the Buffalo River’s headwaters is  a bad idea, but that is exactly what some government agencies allowed several years ago. Due to limited public notice during the permit approval process, county residents and National Parks Service (NPS) employees were not notified about the permit request thus missing their only opportunity to comment on the disastrous impacts this large hog factory might have on the river. Now, a 6,500 hog facility sits only a 100 feet in some places from Big Creek, a major tributary in the Buffalo River headwaters.

Many residents will tell you that family farms are welcomed in the county, and then reassure you that this massive hog operation is not one of those. Recently, a federal judge declared that the Farm Service Agency and the Small Business Administration violated laws protecting natural resources by authorizing this facility. The agencies were forced to do a draft environmental assessment that is disappointingly flawed. Their report concluded the facility will have no impact on water resources. There is no impact from a hog operation that creates more than 2 million gallons of waste each year?

Interestingly, data from the study they used for their assessment found rising nitrate levels downstream from the facility and an increase in E. coli at their well, the trenches and an ephemeral stream nearby the facility’s field. Monitoring by the National Park Service (NPS) agrees, noting that E. coli was found at the confluence of Big Creek and Buffalo River. The NPS also found low dissolved oxygen (DO) levels at the confluence, likely a result of algae feeding on the nitrates. This spells trouble for fish and other inhabitants who depend on the river.

Health and Environmental Threat

 

The placement of the facility is a direct threat to the scenic river’s water quality and all who depend upon and enjoy it. Sitting near the stream, the operation also poses a serious risk to the river system during major floods. Reduced oxygen levels may impact fish populations in the upper Buffalo River such as smallmouth bass, perch, catfish and other aquatic life in the river.

The poor water quality will have a domino effect impacting non-aquatic life as well:

The endangered Gray bat lives year-round in the limestone caves in the area. While the species struggles for survival, a fatal disease known as white-nose syndrome is now jeopardizing bats in the area. To add insult to injury, their primary diet is aquatic insects such as mayflies and caddisflies that are highly sensitive to polluted waters. Losing their main food source could be a double-whammy for the endangered Gray bat.

Water contamination is also a threat to human health. NPS’s unwelcomed discovery of E. coli downstream is not surprising though. The facility and the permitting government agencies failed to acknowledge one simple fact that this facility is on a type of land called karst that is common in this area. The porous rock below allows pollutants to easily seep into the water supply. Many of the citizens depend on well water in their homes that is now jeopardized by this facility.

Needless to say, nobody wants to swim or canoe either when E. coli is in the river, so it may take a toll on the recreational industry that generates much needed revenue for this region. River otters won’t get much of a choice though.

Beyond water pollution, there is also a number of impacts that the flawed government report ignored or underplayed such as the health impacts from decreased air quality emitted by 2 million gallons of waste each year. Studies have shown that these massive facilities take a toll on the health of facility workers and nearby residents. What will happen to wildlife adjacent to this property?

This is not about theoretical impacts before a project begins though. The facility was allowed to start running without much scrutiny, and now scientific evidence is building against the facility. The fact that the recent court-mandated assessment ignores proof of water and air pollution is unacceptable.

Take Action

The 6,500 hog factory at the headwaters of the Buffalo National Scenic River poses a threat to the health of fish, wildlife and humans as it contaminates the water and the air. This is not the first controversial battle to protect the river, and we hope citizens will speak up again to protect America’s first national river.  Let the agencies that permitted this facility know that you reject their claim of zero impact on the ecosystem.

Update: Thank you to everyone who submitted comments to protect America’s first national scenic river. Comment period is closed, but we will keep you posted on this important conservation issue.

Arkansasonline

Between the lines: Few pigs, sooiee
State gives ban on farms near Buffalo River a five-year try
By Brenda Blagg

There will be no more medium and large hog farms permitted in the Buffalo National River watershed for at least the next five years.
The Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission approved a temporary ban late last week, culminating a lengthy regulatory process.
Understand, the decision does not affect C&H Hog Farms, the huge operation in Mount Judea that opened in 2013 and is the reason the state even considered a ban.
The commercial farm is in uncomfortably close proximity to the Buffalo, the nation's first national river and a mecca for out-of-state tourists and Arkansas travelers alike.
The National Park Service reports more than 1.3 million people visited the Buffalo in 2014, spending $56 million or more at area businesses. Clearly, the river is not just a scenic natural treasure but also a major economic driver in Northwest Arkansas.
It is fiercely defended by river enthusiasts, environmentalists and others, all of whom see themselves as stakeholders in the river's legacy.
Consequently, the 2013 introduction of that huge commercial hog-farming operation near the river roiled the region and, indeed, the state.
The loudest outcry has come from those who fear pollution of the watershed and degradation of the pristine river; but there is another side of the argument from those who might want to use their land for a similar operation.
Mind you, since the uproar over C&H Farms, no one has sought a permit for any such thing. But this ban means no one will be allowed to put in such a farm, even if they might be so bold as to try, for at least five years.
For those unfamiliar with the ongoing controversy, the state Department of Environmental Quality granted C&H its permit to hold up to 2,500 sows and 4,000 piglets. The site where all these animals could be confined at any one time borders Big Creek, just six miles from where the creek meets the Buffalo.
The Pollution Control and Ecology Commission oversees the state Department of Environmental Quality, the permitting agency. Its action last week not only establishes a temporary ban but requires the department's director to initiate a rule-making process either to delete the ban or to make it permanent five years after it goes into effect.
The Pollution Control and Ecology Commission just made its decision last week, so the ban won't be effective for a few days more after official papers are filed.
Keep in mind that controversy about C&H, how the farm came to be and how it operates reaches beyond the state government level. This ban of new farms is strictly about what the state of Arkansas can do now.
Efforts at all levels to stop the C&H operation have been stout, but unsuccessful. So concerns continue from environmentalists, Buffalo River enthusiasts and neighbors to the swine farm.
Not only do some fear pollution of the watershed from the runoff of hog waste (contained on site in ponds and applied to fields in the watershed), opponents complain that the concentration of so many hogs in a small area creates odor that is carried through the countryside.
They can find some solace in the fact that the numbers of hogs permitted on the hillsides won't multiply any time soon.
But whatever C&H is or isn't doing to the watershed will continue unabated by the ban.
The commission's action last week will stall future medium and large hog-farming operations while studies on the impact of the C&H operation on water quality in the watershed continue. A University of Arkansas System study conducted by the Division of Agriculture is scheduled to observe the impact for four years. Plus, a parallel study by a university professor is being conducted as well.
Presumably, the science will ultimately prevail.
Meanwhile, smaller farms could still go into the watershed; but the ban will mean no new operation may have more than 750 swine that are 55 pounds or larger, or more than 3,000 swine under 55 pounds.
That still sounds like a lot of animals; but, again, no one has been seeking permits for new hog farms in the watershed. Maybe they won't want to go through the fight that would await.
To be sure, those who think any ban is an infringement on property owners' rights probably aren't happy with the compromise struck for a temporary ban of any kind. And those who wanted a permanent ban aren't happy either.
But this ought to help protect the Buffalo a while longer.
Commentary on 09/02/2015

Newton County Times

Five year ban on new CAFOs in Buffalo watershed

 

Posted: Monday, August 31, 2015 4:00 pm

Staff report | 0 comments

Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission adopted last week changes to its regulations that  will prohibit new permits for large swine facilities in the Buffalo River Watershed. The Arkansas Public Policy Panel and the Ozark Society petitioned the Commission in April of 2014, to initiate both rulemakings. The petitioners are Arkansas nonprofits dedicated to conservation and sound public policy.

According to a press release from the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, the changes to Regulations 5 and 6 prohibit the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality Director from issuing new permits in the next five years for swine operations in the Buffalo National River Watershed with 750 or more swine weighing 55 pounds or more, or 3,000 or more swine weighing less than 55 pounds. The rules require the ADEQ Director to initiate rulemaking at the conclusion of that five-year period to either continue the ban indefinitely, or remove the ban.

“Today’s decision is great news for all Arkansans and the protection of the Buffalo River,” said Barry Haas, a member of the Panel’s Board of Directors. “We thank Governor Hutchinson, the Legislature and the APC&E Commission for their support to protect one of Arkansas’ most treasured natural resources.”

The new regulations do not impact C&H Hog Farm, the existing permitted facility in the Buffalo River Watershed, which is the subject of litigation.

“Buffalo River Watershed Alliance is grateful for the work of the petitioners, the Ozark Society and APPP, and their attorneys, Sam Ledbetter and Ross Noland, for shepherding this important rule change through the maze of legislative and bureaucratic review over the past two years. While we would have preferred to see a permanent ban on swine CAFOs in the Buffalo National River watershed, we also understand that the issue is controversial and has moved beyond sound environmental science and into the realm of politics where compromise is the rule,” noted Alliance president Gordon Watkins of Parthenon. “We are glad to know that the watershed will have some level of protection and a 5-year moratorium is certainly better than nothing.

“We are, however, concerned however that ADEQ will be depending entirely on the study being done by the Big Creek Research and Extension Team when making its determination in 5 years as to whether to extend or remove protections. We feel that the BCRET study, as it is currently designed, is flawed, inadequate and will provide insufficient data to make such an important determination and that other, more comprehensive and extensive studies such as are currently being done by the National Park Service, the Karst Hydrogeology in the Buffalo River Watershed team (KHBNR), and others, must be equally considered.”

Watkins noted that the Alliance membership will be working to both encourage BCRET to strengthen its monitoring efforts, as well as to support other independent and unbiased efforts to closely examine the impacts C&H is having on Big Creek and the Buffalo River. “We will make every effort to insure that all relevant data is considered when making a final decision regarding permanent protection of the Buffalo."

Arkansasonline 

 

Panel's OK enacts ban on Buffalo hog farms
By Emily Walkenhorst

New medium or large hog farms are now banned for the next five years in the Buffalo National River's watershed, under an Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission vote approving the ban Friday.
No commissioners opposed the ban, which was a compromise from a proposal for a permanent ban that most commissioners initially allowed to proceed last year.
"It's a victory. It's not the final victory," said Alan Nye, president of the Ozark Society, which, along with the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, petitioned the commission for the permanent ban.
After running into problems getting legislative committees to agree to review the rule, the groups agreed to work with Gov. Asa Hutchinson's office on a compromise.
The ban is now only for five years and requires the state Department of Environmental Quality director to initiate a rule-making process to either delete the ban or make it permanent five years after it goes into effect, based on a review of research on C&H Hog Farms' impact on the watershed. Initiating a rule-making process would require it go through the commission, public comments, the state Legislature and Hutchinson's office, should he remain governor.
The ban will go into effect 10 days after the commission secretary files it with the Arkansas secretary of state's office. It does not affect the only existing medium or large hog facility in the watershed, C&H Hog Farms in Mount Judea, although that facility was the inspiration for the moratorium.
C&H Hog Farms received a permit from the Department of Environmental Quality in late 2012 through a new, expedited permitting process.
Afterward, environmental groups and people near the C&H site on Big Creek, about 6 miles from where it meets the Buffalo River, began contesting the permit and asking that it be withdrawn. They argued that runoff from hog feces applied as manure on the rough karst terrain would pose a risk to the water surrounding the facility, as would any failure of its lagoons holding hog feces.
The Buffalo National River -- the country's first national river -- is a popular tourist spot, with more than 1.3 million visitors in 2014, who spent about $56.5 million at area businesses, according to National Park Service data.
Small hog farms have existed in the watershed for years, but C&H is the first large-scale hog facility in the watershed. C&H Hog Farms is permitted to hold up to 2,500 sows and 4,000 piglets at a time.
Department officials have maintained that the facility met the requirements it needed to receive a permit.
The facility opened in May 2013 and has been since then the subject of a study by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture on its impact on the river.
That study will conclude about one year before the end of the five-year ban, and officials plan to consult that study before determining how to proceed.
Environmental groups believe that the study is flawed and look instead to another study being done by a former University of Arkansas at Fayetteville professor, Van Brahana. So far, that study has traced the flow of water in the area around the facility, showing potential impact for runoff from the facility.
As recently as this month, however, the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance -- a group created in response to C&H's permit approval and dedicated to shutting the facility down -- used the UA study to file a complaint against C&H.
On Aug. 12, the Watershed Alliance argued that elevated E. coli levels in the area were evidence that C&H had been violating its no-discharge permit.
Last week, in a letter signed by Department of Environmental Quality Director Becky Keogh, the department dismissed the complaint, saying that the levels of E. coli were not too high for the facility's permit and that data did not show "persistent contamination" of the groundwater.
On Friday, Pollution Control and Ecology Commissioner Chris Gardner, a Jonesboro attorney, asked whether the ban handicapped the director of the Department of Environmental Quality from choosing a path other than ending the ban or making it permanent.
"That seems like two extremes," Gardner said. "What discretion is left to the director to do something different?"
Sam Ledbetter, a McMath Woods attorney representing the Ozark Society and Arkansas Public Policy Panel, said,"If director comes to commission, says, 'We looked at it, 100 [hog farms] would be too many but five would be OK,' I don't see this as limiting the director's discretion to do something."
"Ultimately, the director just brings a rule to you guys, and you decide," he continued.
There were few comments Friday about the ban, and no one spoke against it.
The Arkansas Farm Bureau and the Arkansas Pork Producer's Association have previously argued that a moratorium was unnecessary because Cargill --the producer and supplier of 90 percent of the state's pork -- had self-imposed a ban on future hog facilities in the Buffalo River watershed. Brazil-based JBS recently agreed to purchase the company's pork division.
The groups added that negative publicity would discourage anyone from applying to start a facility there.
The Department of Environmental Quality has not received any requests for new hog facility permits since C&H started operations in the watershed.
Metro on 08/29/2015

Arkansasonline

Legislative Council signs off on watershed hog-farm ban

By Michael R. Wickline 

This article was published today at 3:36 a.m.

A proposed five-year ban on new medium and large hog farms in the Buffalo National River watershed cleared the Arkansas Legislative Council on Friday, after an unsuccessful bid by state Rep. Nate Bell, I-Mena, to prevent it.

The Legislative Council voted 21-20 to reject Bell's motion for the council to disapprove the proposed rule, which Bell called "a feel-good regulation that is not based in science."

The proposed rule, created in response to a large-scale hog farm built in the watershed, cleared the council two days after its Administrative Rules and Regulations Committee rejected a similar motion by Bell.

Under Amendment 92 to the Arkansas Constitution and Act 1258 of 2015, the Legislative Council has authority to block proposed state rules by most agencies.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson praised the Legislative Council's Friday action to sign off on the moratorium.

"As with any regulation, it's important to strike a balance between the rights of individual property owners and the overall health and interest of the public," the Republican governor said Friday in a written statement.

"The Buffalo is a national treasure that we as Arkansans have been entrusted to protect, and I believe that we should do everything within reason to do so," Hutchinson said.

"This temporary moratorium will allow for a thorough and conclusive study to be completed, at which time we can make a decision based on science regarding the future of these types of operations within the Buffalo River Watershed," he said.

The proposed rule will now be considered by the Pollution Control and Ecology Commission during its meeting next Friday, said Becky Keogh, director of the state Department of Environmental Quality.

The commission initially started the rule-making process after the Ozark Society and the Arkansas Public Policy Panel proposed permanently banning new medium and large hog farms in the watershed.

The proposed five-year ban reflects a compromise among environmental representatives, the governor's office and some state lawmakers.

It requires that, in five years, the Department of Environmental Quality's director initiate a new rule-making process to lift the ban or make it permanent.

That would allow the director, the commission and legislators to review the continuing study by the University of Arkansas System's Agriculture Division on the environmental effect of C&H Hog Farms in Mount Judea in the Buffalo River watershed. C&H Hog Farms, located near the western bank of Big Creek, is permitted to house about 2,500 sows and up to 4,000 piglets.

The proposed rule would have no effect on C&H Hog Farms. Environmental groups have worried about the farm's potential to pollute the river with millions of gallons of hog feces kept in lagoons or spread out as fertilizer on the rough karst terrain in the area.

The ban on new medium and large hog farms would mean no new facility could have more than 750 swine at the 55-pound level nor more than 3,000 swine below the 55-pound level.

Since C&H Hog Farms began operating, the Department of Environmental Quality has not received any applications for new medium or large hog harms in the Buffalo River watershed. The agency has been unable to issue such applications since April 2014 because of temporary bans imposed by the Pollution Control and Ecology Commission.

Bell said the proposed rule "deprives the property owner of a specific use of their property without any opportunity for scientific review.

"It is arbitrary and emotional without a basis in fact," he told fellow lawmakers. "Folks, if we set a precedent of governing on the basis of emotion, it is a dangerous precedent.

"I understand how important the Buffalo River is to all of us in Arkansas. It is a national treasure," Bell said.

The Buffalo National River -- the first to be designated a national river -- is a popular tourist spot with more than 1.3 million visitors in 2014 who spent about $56.6 million at area businesses, according to the National Park Service.

But Bell told lawmakers that "we also have a responsibility as the elected representatives of the people to uphold the Arkansas Constitution.

"We have a responsibility as elected representatives of the people to stand and to fight for government on the basis of fact, on the basis of science, and not because we feel like it," he said.

The proposed rule divided Hutchinson's two nephews in the Senate.

Senate Republican leader Jim Hendren, R-Sulphur Springs, said that "once you start saying we can deprive a little bit of property rights without compensation, where does it end?

"I think that the rule needs to be modified to put into a place a very clear stipulation that the state is prepared to compensate whatever is fair and just for what we desire, which is to protect this treasure," said Hendren, who is a nephew of the governor.

But Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Little Rock, said he wouldn't consider the proposed rule "a taking [of private property rights] because it does not deprive the landowner of its use.

"It may limit it to one particular type of farm," he said.

"But there is still agriculture allowed. There is still use of the land, economic and otherwise," he said.

State Rep. Kelly Linck, R-Flippin, said UA officials have advised lawmakers that "it's going to take five years to come back ... with scientific evidence of what's happening and what's not happening.

"We're not taking away any rights of anyone that is trying to do anything," he said.

"There [are] no permits being applied for, so it is not like someone is saying, 'I want to do this with my land,' and we are saying, 'You can't do it,'" Linck said.

"If it is safe, great. If it is not safe, then we've done our job of protecting the river," he said.

The Legislature's agriculture and public health committees were hesitant to review a proposed permanent ban in 2014. The latest proposal has successfully cleared the public health committees, the Administrative Rules and Regulations Committee and the Legislative Council.

Metro on 08/22/2015

Arkansasnews.com

Lawmakers OK hog farm moratorium, prison funds

A 

By John Lyon
Arkansas News Bureau
jlyon@arkansasnews.com

LITTLE ROCK — After some debate, the Arkansas Legislative Council on Friday approved a proposed five-year moratorium on new hog farms in the Buffalo National River watershed.

The panel also approved a proposal by Gov. Asa Hutchinson to use $7.4 million from the state’s reserve funds to open 200 new prison beds in Pine Bluff.

The moratorium on hog farms is contained in a rule proposed by the Arkansas Public Policy Panel and the Ozark Society and represents a compromise among environmentalists, the governor’s office and legislators.

The rule would bar the issuance of permits for new medium and large hog farms in the Buffalo National River watershed for the next five years to give the University of Arkansas time to complete a study on what impact, if any, C&H Hog Farms in Mount Judea has had on the watershed.

To date, no new permits have been requested in the watershed. The rule would have no effect on C&H.

The rule still needs approval from the state Pollution Control and Ecology Commission. The commission previously approved a similar measure as a 180-day emergency rule and extended it twice.

Rep. Nate Bell, I-Mena, moved Thursday to reject the proposed rule, which he said was not supported by scientific evidence.

“The Arkansas Constitution expressly provides that no private property shall be taken without compensation. Landowners in this watershed are specifically deprived of the full use of their property without opportunity for scientific review by this regulation,” he said.

Bell acknowledged that the rule was agreed to in a compromise.

“But you know what? Governments throughout history have done bad things because everybody agreed to it,” he said.

Several legislators voiced agreement with Bell, including Sen. Jim Hendren, R-Gravette, who said the rule should be rewritten to state that landowners would be compensated for the “taking” of their property.

Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Benton, Hendren’s cousin, disagreed, saying he would not consider the rule a taking of property.

Rep. Bob Ballinger, R-Hindsville, said limiting a landowner’s use of property could be considered “a regulatory taking.” He asked Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality Director Becky Keogh if scientific evidence is usually collected in cases where the agency limits landowners’ use of their property.

“I think that’s what they’re trying to do here,” she said.

Rep. Kelley Linck, R-Flippin, defended the proposed rule, saying, “We’re not taking away any rights of anyone that’s trying to do anything. … There’s no applications. All we’re saying is, let’s hold off on applications until the U of A finishes a five-year study.”

Bell’s motion received 20 “yes” votes and 21 “no” votes.

 

- See more at: http://arkansasnews.com/news/arkansas/lawmakers-ok-hog-farm-moratorium-prison-funds#sthash.gUtnB66W.dpuf

Arkansasonline

Squealin' over hog factory

 

By Mike Masterson

 

Gordon Watkins of Parthenon likely isn't a happy camper after poring over environmental watchdog data gathered by the University of Arkansas.

As president of the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance, he's filed a formal complaint with Becky Keogh, the director of our state's Department of Environmental Quality (cough) in which he alleges the hog factory operating in the middle of the Buffalo National River watershed has violated its operating permit by improperly storing and handling millions of gallons of swine waste.

His written complaint dated August 12 asks the agency for an independent investigation and that it require the factory to correct its methods and come into compliance with everything its general permit insists be followed.

In his complaint, Watkins, long an advocate for protecting and preserving the majesty of the country's first national river, refers to the Big Creek Research and Extension Team headed by the University of Arkansas at a cost to taxpayers of some $750,000 over five years. Big Creek is a major tributary of the Buffalo flowing just six miles downstream. Some of the fields where large volumes of raw waste are regularly sprayed are along or near Big Creek.

The complaint contends reports this research team have issued thus far show several "red flags" and causes for public concern where preserving water quality in the Buffalo is concerned. Specifically, the bacterial and nitrate levels have risen most noticeably in the factory's on-site, 300-foot-deep house well over the past year. They're elevated in some instances to the point where Watkins says the Arkansas Department of Health would declare them unsafe for human consumption. Yet, his complaint continues, humans and livestock continue to drink from this well.

"Presumably the water is treated to make it safe for use by humans, but the presence of E. coli and total coliforms in the well water, particularly at these steadily increasing levels, is an indication of persistent contamination and a significant danger to human health," his complaint reads. "The most obvious source is leakage from the waste lagoons. Where else could these levels originate?"

The levels Watkins refers to in the research reports reveal that, beginning in the early summer of 2014, E. coli levels measured in samples from the house well were less than 1.0. "However, over the past year these levels have steadily risen and, as shown in the latest April 1-June 30, 2015, report ... all house well samples are now positive for E. coli, with levels ranging from 1.0 (a single sample) to 248.1. Total coliform levels are similarly high."

The revised environmental assessment resubmitted under a court order also describes four other wells in the area that, in light of what's been found in the house well, sure seem to this layman like they also need testing.

He emphasized that the research team's report doesn't draw any conclusions, or express concern over the notable increases in microbes. Nor does it place them in context. The story is told only in data extracted from a page.

Watkins' complaint expresses similar concerns about what the research team reported at the adjacent stream and culvert testing sites that suggest "pond leakage is occurring." In the most recent report, both interceptor trenches dug below the factory show consistently high coliform levels. Trench 2 on the north side shows only one E. coli sample of less than 1, while all other samples of this trench range from 5.2 to 105.4, indicative of pond leakage.

I asked Fayetteville geoscientist and UA professor emeritus Dr. John Van Brahana, who with his group of volunteers has been studying water quality and subsurface water flow around the hog factory and Big Creek for over two years, if he felt Watkins' complaint jibed with his analyses thus far.

"Yes, the findings that the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance have pointed out are indeed troubling, and our [Karst Hydrogeology of the Buffalo National River] data also are consistent with the hog waste moving off-site and beneath the spreading fields into the subsurface water, and from there into tributaries that drain to the Buffalo," Brahana said.

"There are other potential sources of sustained and considerable contamination in this valley. But this hog factory is far and away the largest single possible source of the contaminants mentioned. So yes, this falls exactly into line with what we are finding."

Sounds to me like the Department of Environmental Quality and the EPA might consider getting serious about answering Watkins' complaint and pinning down the source of this documented rise in microbial contamination as soon as possible, even if the research team chose not to address it specifically in meaningful context in its latest report. After all, the state permit allows the factory to leak up to 5,000 gallons of waste a day per acre from these lagoons. Who's even checking for that?

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Mike Masterson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at mikemasterson10@hotmail.com.

Editorial on 08/22/2015