Industrial ag executive & Board of Supervisors chair in conflict-of-interest with community health decisions; STOPP cites ongoing EPA Clean Air Act inquiry of Hickman Family Farms

WHAT:         The community group STOPP (Save Tonopah Oppose Poultry Plant) will deliver a signed petition during public comments at the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors meeting demanding that Board chairman Clint L. Hickman (District 4) disqualify himself from all further air quality & environmental decision-making to avoid further conflicts of interest. 

County residents will assemble before the meeting to demonstrate & educate on the local health, environmental & economic impacts created by the massive Hickman operation.

WHEN:         Wednesday, September 21, 2016 | 9:30am PT

WHERE:       Supervisors’ Auditorium, 205 W. Jefferson, Phoenix, AZ 85003

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FROM THE PETITION:

Supervisor Hickman’s family business, Hickman’s Family Farms, is a large-scale, industrial egg production corporation that is believed to be a major source of local environmental pollution and a public health risk to Maricopa County communities causing valid concerns over suspected noncompliance with environmental laws, including the violation of air pollution regulations

FACTS:

• Hickman’s Desert Pride facility currently houses more than 4 million laying hens. It will eventually reach nearly 10 million birds at an industrial-scale operation comprised of 28 laying houses, 2 processing plants and a total of 4 egg production wastewater ponds.
• The industrial-scale wastewater basins will be 6 feet deep and run nearly twice the length of a football field (540 ft), storing more than 3 million gallons of contaminated liquid open to the environment and the community.
• The Hickman facility stands within a few hundred feet of Tonopah residences, businesses and natural hot springs, threatening air quality, water safety, public health, the local economy and the use, enjoyment and value of surrounding properties.

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For more information, contact:    

Dan Mack, STOPP Inc., macks405@sbcglobal.net | 916-759-4291

Steve Masar, Socially Responsible Agricultural Project, media@sraproject.org | 415-420-7527