Judge puts halt on Cooper County CAFO rules
A circuit judge has put a hold on new regulations on large animal farm operations in Cooper County.
Judge Robert Koffman on Monday granted the request for a temporary restraining order in a case brought by dozens of farmers against the Cooper County Board of Health and its members. The order blocks enforcement of regulations approved Aug. 18 that target air quality and where manure can be spread.
The lawsuit is just one filed in Mid-Missouri over regulations of large livestock farming operations.
A Cole County judge last week blocked a new state law from taking effect in a lawsuit brought by the Callaway County Public Health Center and the Cedar County Commission. That law, which was slated to take effect Wednesday, would prevent counties from passing regulations on concentrated animal feeding operations that are stricter than state regulations already in place.
The next hearing in the Cooper County case is set for Sept. 23.
