Permit issued for Southwest Missouri chicken farm near state park

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) -- State regulators have issued an operating permit for a large-scale chicken farm near Roaring River State Park that is opposed by some neighbors.

Critics of the chicken houses that will hold over 65,000 birds pledged to appeal the permit.

Rodney and Michelle Ozbun of Eagle Rock need the permit to operate a so-called confined animal feeding operation, or CAFO.

They plan to operate four 500-foot-long barns with a total capacity of 65,600 pullets, or laying hens.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources granted the operating permit Wednesday despite the fact that another state body had issued a stay on the construction permit for the chicken farm.

The DNR said the operating permit application complied with state law and met all requirements needed to protect state waters.

Another body, the state's Administrative Hearing Commission, issued a ruling July 25 to stay construction because permission was lacking from one neighbor.

However, Darrick Steen, who is overseeing the project for the DNR, said the there is no state law that prohibits the issuance of an operating permit when a stay is in effect on a construction permit.

Some residents have objected that runoff will threaten nearby Roaring River State Park, the spring that feeds a state fish hatchery and Roaring River itself.

The Ozbuns have said the chicken houses will be enclosed and tightly controlled and that waste from the chickens will be sold to a litter-removal company.

The Ozbun farm is one of three CAFOs in Missouri that have been constructed or are proposed for construction near state parks or historic sites.

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Information from: The Joplin Globe, http://www.joplinglobe.com