Friends of Responsible Agriculture (FORAG) made a motion to file another Sunshine Law violation with regard to information garnered during tours of several concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) that could determine the construction of a hog CAFO in Kingdom City Monday.
The motion against the Missouri Clean Water Commission (CWC), Missouri Department of Natural Resources and Callaway Farrowing, LLC., came after a motion to compel filed by FORAG in November. The motion required members of the three groups to provide notes taken during their tours of two CAFOs - the Brinker Farm and University Farm.
Based on information provided in the depositions, tours were also taken at the Windemann Farm swine CAFO, a land application facility that dealt with swine CAFO waste and the site of the proposed Kingdom City CAFO, according to the motion. While the public notice confirmed visitations to both Brinker and University farms, an itinerary and deposition indicate the other three sites were visited.
Members of FORAG, who are against the construction of the proposed CAFO in Kingdom City, were not invited to attend the two known tours. Those tours had the potential to compromise information provided at a previous hearing. This occurred when Callaway Farrowing's permit appeal was pending before the CWC.
At the November hearing, Attorney General Chris Koster stated the information gained from the tours and outside of the permit appeal hearing would not be relevant in determining the CWC's decision. The presiding judge, however, required the CWC to turn over the requested documentation.
Now FORAG has until April 20 to file the violation to the Cole County Court.