Pilgrim Poultry obtains CAFO permit for Camp Co. egg farm

From Staff Reports

September 19, 2002 -- It took a little over four years, but Pilgrim Poultry has obtained a Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) permit to operate a caged egg layer facility located on FM 556, about seven miles southwest of Pittsburg.

It's not a new facility. The egg farm began operation in 1980, and was initially known as Strube Egg Farms. The permit allows Pilgrim Poultry to have up to 1.4 million head at the farm.

The handling of the waste generated by 1.4 million birds is a controversial issue, and the main point of permit. Complaints by adjacent landowners is one reason for the slow-going process of obtaining a permit. Lagoons near the facility's hen houses hold the waste and water, yet the manner of holding and dispersing of the wastewater on the farm's 350 acres is a concern.

In December 1995, Pilgrim's was notified that Strube Egg Farms was operating without a wastewater permit. Records obtained from Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ, formally Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission or TNRCC) show they received application from Pilgrim Poultry for a CAFO permit on May 18, 1998.

Although the specific regulations have changed throughout the last several years, all Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), such as dairies and feedyards, must obtain a permit as deemed by the Texas Water Code. Strube Egg Farms is a CAFO.

By July 1999, the regulatory agency, then known as TNRCC, fined Pilgrim's Poultry over $31,000 for operating Strube Egg Farms without a permit and gave then close to one year to obtain the permit.

Time extensions came and went, contested case hearings were held, and by May 13, 2002, (former) TNRCC Executive Director Jeffrey Saitas said Pilgrim Poultry must obtain the necessary permit to continue operation within 45 days.

On June 28, Saitas was still deciding how to handle the situation, as Pilgrim Poultry still had no permit.

On July 17, the matter was referred to the state's Attorney General's office. At this time, the noncompliance enforcement case before the Attorney General is still pending, said a TCEQ spokesperson on Sept. 12.

On Sept. 3, no visible change occurred at the egg farms on that particular day, other than the permit hanging on the wall.