Judge sides with Iowa hog farm owners in S.D. dispute
Judge sides with Iowa hog farm owners in S.D. dispute
The Associated Press
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – A federal judge on Wednesday refused to stop construction of an Iowan-owned hog farm west of Wagner, saying it is not on tribal land as three American Indians claimed in a lawsuit against the project.
Frances Zephier, Robin Bair and Rachel Bernie, representing the Yankton Sioux Tribe Head Start Concerned Parents, acted as their own lawyers in bringing the complaint.
It alleges Longview Farm of Hull, Iowa, has not met federal environmental requirements, has failed to follow federal law requiring a search for historic and cultural resources on the construction site, and has violated federal regulations dealing with children’s health.
The Yankton Sioux Tribe’s Head Start is about 2 miles from the hog farm construction site.
The lawsuit states the hog farm site is within the boundaries of the Yankton Sioux Tribe’s reservation as established in 1851 and 1858 treaties.
Longview Farm, owned by 11 Iowa farmers, is about 4 miles north of Marty, the Yankton Sioux Tribe headquarters. Longview representatives have said it could house an average of 3,350 sows and produce 70,000 pigs a year. The young pigs would be raised on farms in Iowa.
Construction started this spring.
U.S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol scheduled Wednesday’s hearing solely to determine if the land on which the farm lies is on tribal land, which Zephier argued it is.
Longview Farm attorney Dave Nadolski countered that it is on private land.
——————————————————————————–
http://www.argusleader.com:80/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080618/UPDATES/80618042/1001/news
