COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - A group trying to stop a large hog farm from opening in mid-Missouri will be back in court Monday asking a judge to void a state permit for the project.
Friends of Responsible Agriculture has been fighting for two years against Callaway Farrowing LLC's proposal to put 10,000 pigs on 20 acres in western Callaway County. On Monday, the group will ask Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green for an order voiding a 3-2 vote on Oct. 5 by the Clean Water Commission approving a permit for the farm, The Columbia Daily Tribune reported (http://bit.ly/2fBamnr). Only three members of the seven-member commission supported the permit but four votes are required by law, attorney Stephen Jeffery wrote in a court pleading that will be argued Monday.
"I think the language of the statute speaks for itself," Jeffery said in an interview. "If it says all final decisions have to be approved by four commissioners, how can you argue with that?"
Callaway Farrowing LLC, and the commission, argue that if four votes are required, Green should reverse an earlier ruling that barred two of the seven commissioners from participating in the vote. That left the commission with only five members and, with two members opposed, the commission had only three members who could vote to approve the permit.
Alicia Turner, an attorney for Callaway Farrowing, also argued in a pleading that Friends of Responsible Agriculture should not be allowed to sue because it has no interest in the farm, the court has no jurisdiction because other remedies have not been tried and that an earlier lawsuit filed by the group created the current problem.
Eichelberger Farms Inc. of Wayland, Iowa, in June 2014 notified nearby landowners that it intended to seek a permit. Friends of Responsible Agriculture has used public meetings and legal action since then to delay construction of the farm. Callaway Farrowing LLC is the subsidiary created to operate the farm.
Green issued a temporary restraining order when the group sued after the Oct. 5 vote, ordering Callaway Farrowing not to do any work at the site while the case is pending.
In July, Green ordered commissioners Todd Parnell of Springfield and Ashley McCarty of Novinger not to vote on the permit because they violated their duty to be impartial by visiting the Callaway Farrowing site. That action potentially gave them information not on the legal record, Green ruled.
A separate lawsuit over Sunshine Law violations related to the hog farm visits is pending in Cole County Circuit Court.
___
Information from: Columbia Daily Tribune, http://www.columbiatribune.com