Judge's order puts Kingdom City hog farm decision on pause

An attorney for Friends of Responsible Agriculture - a local group opposing a 10,000-hog operation in Kingdom City - is hoping a court order filed last week will reveal information he believes was unlawfully held from him and his clients.

Friends of Responsible Agriculture, which is made up of residents living near the site for the proposed hog farm, has made attempts for the past year to detract the operation - Callaway Farrowing, LLC - from coming to the area, citing concerns over water pollution and odor. After several community forums hosted by Friends, the Department of Natural Resources issued an operational permit for Callaway Farrowing. Friends challenged the permit, and Administrative Hearing Commissioner Karen Winn heard arguments in February from Friends' attorney, Steven Jeffrey, as well as Callaway Farrowing's attorney, Robert Brundage, and the DNR's legal counsel. Ultimately, Winn released her opinion that the DNR was right in issuing the permit and recommended the Clean Water Commission to uphold it.

The recent court order, filed on June 5, may reopen the hearing process. According to court documents, four of the seven Clean Water Commissioners took two tours of swine concentrated animal feeding operations on March 31 and April 1 without knowledge of Jeffrey or his clients. This, he said, denies his clients of due process. The only way Jeffrey and Friends were aware of the tours, he said, was because a Friends member overheard commissioners discuss the tours at one of their previous meetings. Attorneys for Callaway Farrowing and the DNR legal counsel also went on the tours, court documents show.

Judge Patricia Joyce's preliminary writ of prohibition canceled the Clean Water Commission's Wednesday open meeting - when the group planned to make a decision on the permit. A closed session was still held under Missouri statute, allowing commissioners to discuss legal actions and litigation.

Jeffrey said from a legal perspective, commissioners act in a judicial capacity and are bound to comply by the same rules as Missouri judges. This includes remaining fair and partial and not conducting any independent fact findings, which Jeffrey said the tours fall under. He and his clients, Jeffrey said, were never given the opportunity to attend the tours. Jeffrey said he wants to know what was discussed during the tour, what information was given, how the tours were organized and why he and Friends were not told about the tours. According to Joyce's order, the DNR, Callaway Farrowing and the Clean Water Commission have until July 6 to file a response.

In April, Jeffrey made a request - through email - to Assistant Attorney General Thais Ann Folta that the commissioners on the tours recuse themselves "in order to avoid any possible appearance of impropriety and impartiality in the hearing process."

Glenn Ehrhardt, spokesman for Callaway Farrowing, did not return a phone call for an interview request. Attorney General Chris Koster represents the DNR and Clean Water Commission.