On the heels of two public hearings regarding a proposed draft decision to deny the Regulation 5 permit application of C&H Hog Farms, Inc. in Newton County, comes word of action Wednesday in Newton County Circuit Court.
As Mays explains it, the Pollution Control and Ecology Commission has asked for public comments on the notice the Department of Environmental Quality deciding to deny the permit, based on environmental risks, both from potential of pollutants reaching underground water and the effects of land-applied waste washing into tributaries of the Buffalo River. C&H went to court asking for a stay of that order, which closed its departmental appeal. The judge said the circuit court now has jurisdiction to hear C&H’s appeal of that decision and issued a stay pending further litigation. In the meantime, the order allows the hog farm to continue operation. Mays, who represents the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance, said he will be responding to Judge Putman’s decision.
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