An application for a hog farm permit will return to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) to be reconsidered during a new public-comment period following a unanimous decision made Friday by the ADEQ’s appellate body.
According to The Northwest Arkansas Times, the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission’s order reopens consideration of the permit for the 6,503-hog operation situated within the Buffalo River’s watershed. The effect of C&H Hog Farms on the country’s first national river has been the subject of debate since the farm opened in 2013.
Under the order, the Environmental Quality Department must reissue its final decision to deny C&H Hog Farms’ permit as a draft decision. Then it must accept public comments for at least 30 days before reviewing the comments and issuing a final decision.
The agency denied C&H Hog Farms’ new operating permit in January, 21 months after the owners applied. The department took nearly a year before the denial to read and respond, as required by law, to the more than 19,000 public comments submitted on the permit application.
The order found the department erred in not issuing its denial of C&H’s new operating permit as a draft decision. C&H’s attorneys argued draft decisions are required for new positions taken by the department on whether a permit should be approved.
Administrative Law Judge Charles Moulton agreed, issuing an order in July recommending the Pollution Control and Ecology Commission approve his finding.
The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality disputed Moulton’s conclusion, contending Ark. Code Ann. 8-4-203(e)(1), which was cited by both parties as the basis of their arguments, only asks the department to issue a final decision after a comment period, which the department did.
Commissioners approved the recommended order Friday with no vocal dissent and after little discussion. The meeting, which began at 9:00 Friday morning, was over by 10:30.
C&H Hog Farms operates on Big Creek, about 6 miles from where the creek drains into the Buffalo River. The farm is the only federally classified medium or large hog farm in the area.
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