MOARK's Day 3, Day 4 of Appeal Hearing

Day three and four of MOARK's appeal hearing took place Thursday, October 13, 2006 and Friday, October 14, 2006, at the Neosho City Hall Council Chambers. This was a continuation of the proceedings which were held, September 28 and 29 at the US District Courthouse in Springfield, MO. The Neosho Daily News, and reporter Wes Franklin, provided a thorough summary of the proceedings.

Thursday, October 13, 2006: (1) Dr Riley Needham, PhD. and (2) Bill Miller testified on the possible transfer of contaminants found in poultry manure to the waterway. (3) Dan Hudgens, MOARK VP of Operations was questioned about the composting facility located north of the Hathaway Farm. He confirmed that the composting facility has been used to process manure from MOARK's Anderson Farm.

Friday, October 14, 2006: (4) Hugh Vogle-MOARK's Bi-Product Manager for Southwest Missouri testified on topics ranging from MOARK's composting facility, just north of the Hathaway Farm to the company's land application of litter. Vogle testified that all litter produced by MOARK 7 farms is hauled north of the Spring River and spread there, at a two-ton-per-acre limit. (5) Tony Dohman, Water Protection Program, Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), testified that "he didn't know if seepage of contaminants would necessarily be considered a violation by MOARK of water quality standards outlined in the permit, as it would be hard to prove once the contaminants were in the soil and unseen."

The hearing is to be continued. It is scheduled to reconvene in Jefferson City on October 24, 2006 at 8:30am, Truman Building, Rm No. 520.