The state Pollution Control and Ecology Commission voted in an emergency meeting Wednesday afternoon to grant a stay that will enable C&H Hog Farms to continue to operate, pending appeal of the recent decision by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) to deny C&H's Reg. 5 permit. The commission voted 10-0-2 (10 for, zero against, 2 abstentions) in favor of the stay. C&H owner Jason Henson, ArFB's Evan Teague and several others spoke in support of the stay. The appeal process offiicially began on Thursday, Jan. 18, as a request for review was submitted to ADEQ.

See Arkansas Farm Bureau's official statement on the original ADEQ denial here.