By Wally Kennedy
wkennedy@joplinglobe.com
An appeal hearing on the construction and operating permits for the Ozbun chicken concentrated animal feeding operation near Roaring River State Park will start at 9 a.m. Thursday, according to a spokeswoman for the Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission.
The two-day hearing will take place in Room 540 of the Truman Building in Jefferson City.
The Ozbun CAFO houses up to 65,600 pullets for George’s Processing, a poultry plant near Cassville. It was granted an operating permit on Aug. 22, 2007, by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
The CAFO is within a mile or so of the river and the state park, a popular tourist destination in Barry County.
Local residents, supported by trout fishermen, environmentalists and tourism groups around the state, have formed the Roaring River Parks Alliance to oppose the CAFO and the possible construction of other CAFOs near the state park.
Similar controversies have erupted regarding hog and chicken CAFOs near other state parks and historic sites, such as the Arrow Rock and Battle of Athens state historic sites.
Opponents have argued that the CAFO at Roaring River will damage water quality in the spring and river, and be a drain on tourism.
The opponents also have said they will attempt to show that the DNR circumvented the original construction permit by allowing changes after the fact. The changes were made, they allege, without the public having an opportunity to comment on them.
Opponents also plan to cite the geology of the site, noting that there is a losing stream on the property that is an unnamed tributary to Roaring River. A losing stream is a water body that may lose and gain flow as water moves through the hydrologic system.
It is not clear how a recent decision by Cole County Circuit Judge Patricia Joyce will affect the hearing. The judge’s ruling prohibits the construction of hog CAFOs within two miles of the Arrow Rock State Historic Site. Originally, the judge created a 15-mile buffer around the park, but she later decided to reduce that to two miles.
State regulators say the waste-management system for the Ozbun CAFO has been designed and permitted as a no-discharge operation, which means wastes are contained and stored until proper land application can take place.
Michelle and Rodney Ozbun, owners of the CAFO, have retained Michael Schmid, an associate in the firm of Schreimann, Rackers, Francka and Blunt in Jefferson City, to represent them.
The Roaring River Parks Alliance will be represented by John Price, of Springfield.
The DNR will be represented by an attorney associated with the Missouri attorney general’s office.
Commission
The Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission, part of the executive branch of state government, is a neutral, administrative tribunal that functions as a court-like or quasi-judicial entity to resolve conflicts involving permits and other contested issues in Missouri.
Local News
Appeal hearing set on Roaring River CAFO
- Local News
-
-
Cattle prices reach record highs as inventories drop to 60-year lows
Just a few years ago, a 700-pound steer calf brought 60 cents a pound for Jim McCann, a cattleman who lives near Miller. Now, a comparable calf may bring nearly three times that amount, McCann said Tuesday.
-
GALLERY: Missouri Arts Council honors Joplin as Creative Community
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Joplin’s creativity was heralded in a state award presented Wednesday, but it was the town’s resiliency that earned it a standing ovation from arts supporters and state legislators attending ceremonies at the Capitol.
-
‘A creek runs through it’ concept posed for new JHS
The Joplin Board of Education got its first peek at preliminary architectural renderings for the new Joplin High School at a special meeting Wednesday night. Architects from DLR Group, based in Omaha, Neb., and Corner Greer & Associates, based in Joplin, presented the plans to the board for its blessing to move forward with the design concept.
-
Synthetic pot cited in charge; two girls sick
An 18-year-old Neosho resident was charged with child endangerment after being accused of supplying two teenage girls with “incense,” or synthetic marijuana, that made them sick enough Tuesday night to require hospital treatment.
-
Judge overrules defense motions in infant death case
A judge has denied a recent series of motions by Eddie Salazar’s attorney to get statements he made to police suppressed before his trial next month on a charge that he murdered his 8-month-old son two years ago.
-
Kansan describes trips into space during PSU visit
Everyone had a reason Wednesday afternoon for heading to Yates Hall at Pittsburg State University. Kansas native Steven Hawley was there to make a presentation called “The Engineering, Scientific and Cultural Legacy of the Space Shuttle,” which attempted to fit into 30 minutes 30 years of human space flight and what we have learned from it.
-
Authorities not sure whether gun had any role in death
An autopsy is scheduled to be performed today on a body discovered inside a mobile home that was destroyed by fire late Tuesday night.
-
MSSU president says governor’s proposal provides some relief
Bruce Speck, president of Missouri Southern State University, on Wednesday said Gov. Jay Nixon’s plan to restore $40 million of his proposed $106 million cut to higher education would help ease the university’s situation.
-
Mike Pound: Honoring a great lady and a life well lived
Dorothy Parker’s friends and family will tell you she knew how to live. The transplant from New Iberia, La., took Neosho by storm when she relocated there in 1993. In 1994, Dorothy suggested that the folks at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 305 W. Spring St., put on a Mardi Gras dinner, and she offered to do the bulk of the cooking.
-
Mo. AG candidates objects to birth control order
Republican attorney general candidate Ed Martin wants Missouri to object to a federal decision requiring church-affiliated employers to cover birth control.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Video of Ga. Man Who Killed Girl Released
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
White House Attacks Romney on Birth Control
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Mo. Teen Gets Life Sentence for Killing Girl, 9
Lower-hassle Screening to Be Tested at Airports
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Helmet Camera Captures Calif. Fire Rescue
Worker Tells 911: Powell 'exploded the House'
Triple Win: Santorum Takes Minn., Mo., Colo.
Injured Marine Inspired by Homecoming
No Rape Charges Against Son of NYPD Commissioner
Egypt's Ruling Generals Play Risky Game With US
Former Komen Exec Defends Funding Cut
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional
Jury Selection for Ex-UVa Athlete Enters 2nd Day
