Missouri DNR Grants Stay on Feedlot Expansion
Missouri’s Administrative Commission granted a stay to opponents of the expansion of a Missouri feedlot. The Commission ruled that opponents to the expansion of Valley Oaks Steak Company provided enough evidence to support claims that the expansion could harm the community. Valley Oaks was ordered to halt its expansion until the Commission reaches a full decision.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources approved the permit for expansion on June 15, and Valley Oaks was scheduled to expand its feedlot to 6,999 head.
Valley Oaks feedlot and processing facility is near Lone Jack, MO, and three miles from Powell Gardens, a botanical garden that draws about 100,000 visitors a year. Opponents to Valley Oaks expansion claim it will harm the environment and lower property values. Supporters claim the expansion will bring jobs to the area.
After the permit was granted in June, the opponents appealed the decision, and the commission revisited the permit. In granting the stay, the Commission said the permit was issued to an entity called Country Club Homes, LLC, which is owned by Valley Oaks cofounder David Ward. The Commission's stay said the Missouri Secretary of State’s office has no record of Country Club Homes, but that Ward is working to fix that problem.
The commission also said that the planned expansion wouldn't have enough waste-storage space for what would be created. The stay delayed the expansion until the state DNR can revisit the permit application at an Aug. 27 hearing.
