SALEM, ORE. – The new owner of a troubled mega-dairy operation that violated hundreds of environmental rules wants to reopen the facility, drawing fresh opposition from environmental groups.
Washington-state based Easterday Farms requested permission from the Oregon Department of Agriculture earlier this month to house over 28,000 animals on the site of the now-shuttered Lost Valley Farm, according to the Statesman Journal . Lost Valley opened in April 2017 to supply milk to the nearby Tillamook Cheese factory. State officials allowed the facility to bypass regulatory requirements, citing potential economic benefits it would bring to the area. The dairy was allowed to operate before construction was complete and before submitting an official plan on how to handle millions of gallons of animal waste.
Over the next year and a half, the facility racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for breaking environmental regulations. Over 30 million gallons of manure awaited cleanup when the farm finally closed in February.
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