x
Breaking News
More () »

Hog Farm Polluting Buffalo River, Resolution Claims

A hog farm near a Buffalo National River tributary in Newton County has some members of the Fayetteville City Council fighting against the farm’s operation. The...

A hog farm near a Buffalo National River tributary in Newton County has some members of the Fayetteville City Council fighting against the farm’s operation.

The Fayetteville City Council is set to meet Tuesday (April 16) to discuss the large scale sow hog farm but the the Farm Service Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved the operation.

The Fayetteville City Council agreed this week to address a resolution to oppose a 6,500 hog factory farm near Harrison. Although the farm is a few counties away, the proposed resolution claims the factory could poison Buffalo River waters and hurt local tourism revenue.

The resolution, drafted by Fayetteville city attorney Kit Williams, states hog droppings have the ability to pollute the river and keep people from canoeing or hiking along the river locally.

“Hog excrement…smells very much worse than chicken or cow manure,” the resolution states. The state of Arkansas “would never allow a city of 6,500 people to just use lagoons that can easily overflow after a storm and flow into the nearby creek to store and ‘treat’ human waste.”

The U.S. Farm Services Agency found the hog farm would have no significant impact on the local environment and the river, a claim the City Council’s proposed resolution calls “hard to imagine”.

The resolution was co-sponsored by Alderman Sarah Marsh and Mayor Lioneld Jordan. The City Council is scheduled to address the resolution Tuesday.

Before You Leave, Check This Out