Rally for the river

A public rally is planned next Tuesday in Rogers for all who care about preserving water quality of the Buffalo National River. Organizers say the event is to be at the John Q. Hammons Convention Center beginning at 11:30 a.m. during the 2014 Governor’s Conference on Tourism. That’s appropriate, considering Arkansas’ only national river annually generates more than 40 million tourism dollars.

The flyer for this event says it’s intended to raise a common voice of protest, now that “the water quality and safety of the river is threatened by an industrial hog facility built in the watershed.” Now there’s an understatement in speaking of Cargill-sponsored C&H Hog Farms permitted by our state to raise up to 6,500 swine and continually spread their waste just six miles upstream from the Buffalo.

Meanwhile, some readers tell me they’ve been unable to post comments about my columns on the paper’s website. So I asked Barry Arthur, the company’s guru of all things technological, who assures me that any problems that might have existed are all resolved, so post (and email) away.

Gosh knows I’ve been receiving plenty of your reactions by email.

Because I like to share, here are but several of your feelings (edited for space) about permitting the hog factory in this location:

From M. Frye-“I enjoy most of your writings, but your continual rag, it seems every week, about the Buffalo & C&H has run the course with me in a newspaper that I pay good money for at a recent increased price. You are sounding like the over bloated sports staff in this newspaper that writes about football 365 days per year. GAG! … Like it or not, pork is an important part of the food chain … someone, somewhere has to produce this food product.”

From Frank-“The facts that you brought forward related to the permit approval process are disgusting at best. The Buffalo River is a crown jewel in the state and nothing like this should be in the drainage basin at all even with proper permits and the best engineering systems known. This area is too valuable to put at risk to accommodate any economic venture with this kind of potential impact.”

From Cindy-“I don’t always agree with your opinions … but I applaud your dedication in addressing the glaring irregularities surrounding that ‘hog farm.’ That is no farm and it has no business in the Buffalo River watershed.”

From Roland-“Can’t tell you how grateful we are that someone with a voice is beating the drum to save our treasure. I’ve voiced my concerns to my legislators but I feel tilting at windmills.”

From Richard-“The questions you list are ones I’d ask. But is there any hope of receiving the truthful answers? Having worked for several years as a [government] employee, the reluctance to find the truth is rampant. Keep that hickory fire burning !”

From Joe-“It seems the more you dig, more and more comes to the surface (no pun intended). I find it amazing that ADEQ has done very little to defend their position. It seems they believe if they ignore it, it will go away … Even with all that’s been discovered, an attitude for change is very weak … If one thinks through the potential impact of the general permit, it means much of our strength to protect our water has dissolved … I’m a strong believer that water will someday be one of the main factors in expanding our economic base and improving our quality of life.”

From RG-“It’s sad enough this type of farm exists, much less on the Buffalo Watershed … It’s concentrated suffering, not just concentrated waste.”

From Adele-“Thank you for continuing to speak up for the beautiful Buffalo. Surely it is not too late to save it from certain destruction, but only if people like you keep alerting those of us who have no voice to the travesty that is happening. I floated the Buffalo for the first time last spring. It is truly magnificent, and must not be despoiled … My Arkansas roots go deep.”

From Scotty-“I think the answer to where [the hog factory] originated will be the same as it usually is: To find it, follow the money … In the experience of Jesus and me, the motive is usually money or power, between which there is a close nexus … People are definitely thinking about what you are saying and are concerned … Surely there’s someplace better to raise thousands of hogs than overlooking the Buffalo … Keep bringing it.”

From Kim-“Having grown spending a lot of time on that land (family farm) and in Mt. Judea this concern is very dear to me. I appreciate your sharing the article from two I admire,Mr. Bethune and Dr. Snyder. I appreciate their insight and that they are taking an active interest.”

From Skip-“Your writing is spot on … Keep on keepin’ on. Ask why our ‘beloved’ governor doesn’t get on this bandwagon? … I rather like Governor Beebe, actually. But, he fails us when he doesn’t make this his issue, too.”Oops! There’s more

I recently offered a list of questions I believe gubernatorial candidates should answer regarding the state’s permitting of the hog factory within the Buffalo National River watershed. Because my brain occasionally backfires in the post-traumatic throes of post-youth, I inadvertently failed to mention Curtis Coleman as the primary opponent to Asa Hutchinson and Lynette Bryant as the primary opponent for Mike Ross.

At any rate, of course my invitation to respond to those questions in an email to me applies to Coleman and Bryant as well.

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Mike Masterson’s column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at [email protected]. Read his blog at mikemastersonsmessenger.com.

Editorial, Pages 19 on 03/08/2014

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