Conservation Chair Alice Andrews submitted the following report on the March 28 PC&E meeting:
PC&E had directed ADEQ to come up with a plan for a “Task Force to study the possibility of banning large CAFOS in the Buffalo River Watershed”. They were to propose a member list of Task Force Stakeholders from organizations and state agencies and to report their conclusions in January 2015.
In the meantime, the Ozark Society and the Arkansas Public Policy Panel decided to join forces to notify PC&E that we are filing a petition for 3rd Party Rulemaking to ban any future medium and large CAFOs from the Buffalo River Watershed. This would require a modification of Regulations 5 and 6 related to Individual and General Permits for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. We believe that this process would be faster than waiting for the Task Force recommendations.
After extensive discussion on the Task Force proposal, the Commission voted unanimously to proceed with 3rd Party Rulemaking, and to place the Task Force on hold for the time being. One Commissioner tried to also request a moratorium on any more hog farms for six months while the 3rd Party Rulemaking moves forward. That motion was tabled until the uncertainties of existing law on NOI (Notice of Intent) are studied and resolved. There will be a report on this matter at the April PC&E meeting.
This process will have no impact on C & H Hog Farm.
A medium CAFO is defined as from about 70 to 2499 swine. A large CAFO is 2500 or more swine. Therefore, a medium CAFO that has close to the upper limit of swine will produce about the same amount of waste as 2500 swine. Cargill, for example, will work with a CAFO of 1200 swine. We want to assure that there are not 50 medium size CAFOS, each with 1200 swine, hence the importance of banning medium as well as large CAFOS in the BR Watershed.