The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) will be commencing its independent drilling study this week at a scrutinized mass-production swine farm in Newton County. Harbor Environmental and Safety notified the ADEQ Thursday it retained Cascade Drilling from Memphis to begin the process Wednesday at C & H Hog Farms near Mount Judea.
According to the ADEQ, a sonic-drilling rig will advance a 120-foot boring in the vicinity of the waste storage ponds to evaluate the subsurface conditions. Soil samples will be collected at five-foot intervals for analysis of potential analytes of interest, and groundwater encountered during the drilling will also be sampled. The drilling and sampling will be conducted under the observation of the ADEQ and professional geologist Tai Hubbard, and the process is expected to conclude within three to four days.
Collected samples will later be transferred to the independent certified environmental laboratory Arkansas Analytical. The validated laboratory results and analysis will require nearly six weeks, and Harbor expects the final report to be submitted to the ADEQ by January.
Harbor says Cascade Drilling will mobilize to C & H Hog Farms on Tuesday. For more information on the drilling study, go online to adeq.state.ar.us.
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