August 07, 2013

Conservation Coalition Files Suit to Protect Buffalo National River

8/7/13 - A coalition of conservation and citizen groups, represented by Earthjustice, Earthrise Law Center, and local attorney Hank Bates, filed suit in federal court yesterday to challenge approval of a hog farm near the Buffalo National River in Arkansas.
Buffalo National River, Arkansas (National Park Service)
Buffalo National River, Arkansas (National Park Service)
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A coalition of conservation and citizen groups filed suit in federal court yesterday to challenge approval of a hog farm near the Buffalo National River in Arkansas. The suit challenges the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for their inadequate review and improper authorization of loan guarantee assistance to C&H Hog Farms, a 6,500-pig factory farm located on a major tributary of the Buffalo National River, a national park site and the country’s first national river. The groups set forth their concerns in a letter to the federal agencies dated June 6, 2013, and are bringing suit only after the agencies have made clear that they are not remedying their violations of the law. The suit was filed in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Western Division.

Earthjustice, Earthrise Law Center, and local attorney Hank Bates are representing the Arkansas Canoe Club, Buffalo River Watershed Alliance, National Parks Conservation Association, and The Ozark Society in filing this complaint against the USDA and SBA.

For more information, follow the links (right) to the filed complaint, press release, and recent media coverage.