TOPEKA — State regulators working behind closed doors with three prominent Kansas agriculture organizations drafted new rules allowing confined animal operators opportunity to boost concentration of hogs without triggering laws mandating greater separation distances from surface water or nearby homes, churches and schools.
The recommended policy stemmed from a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club and a subsequent 2019 court decision that went against the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and prominent hog farmer Terry Nelson. The Sierra Club successfully challenged…
