Factory farm permits approved despite court ruling

KANSAS CITY – A Cole County court ruling that restricts the locations of factory farms near state parks and historic sites failed to deter a state agency from recently approving several such facilities.

The ruling pertained to a proposed indoor hog farm near Arrow Rock and set a 15-mile buffer near state parks. At the time, Missouri Department of Natural Resources head Doyle Childers said that the ruling threatened the state's ability to issue new permits.

But in the past two weeks, the state agency has issued permits for four more concentrated animal feeding operations near state parks, The Kansas City Star reported Friday.

Childers told the newspaper that the court ruling was unclear about whether it addressed all state parks or just Arrow Rock.