KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Days after the Missouri Department of Natural Resources approved a permit for expansion for the Valley Oaks Steak Company, Powell Gardens announced an appeal and injunction against the project on Tuesday.
The expansion project has been met with plenty of controversy over the last several months.
The Valley Oaks Steak Company, located in Johnson County (MO), started construction to expand its feedlot and processing plant months ago and plans to increase the number of its cattle from 999 to 6,999.
The number of cattle at the site after expansion will fall one short of requirements that would lead to the company facing more stringent state regulations.
On Tuesday, Powell Gardens CEO and President Tabitha Schmidt said the expansion continued to present many concerns.
“We’re worried about irreparable harm,” she said. “They could seriously harm the garden in a way they might question its ability to be sustained in the future.”
With Valley Oaks less than five miles away from Powell Gardens, Schmidt said possible runoff at the expansion site could contaminate groundwater and pollute the environment.
Schmidt added that odors from the plant could travel downwind and impact business at the botanical garden.
“If odor becomes an issue, weddings won’t happen,” she said. “What if a night we have 5,000 people out here, it’s a bad odor night?”
Other neighbors have raised concerns about falling property values in the area as a result of the expansion.
With so many concerns regarding the project, Schmidt said Powell Gardens hoped to stop the expansion by filing an injunction and an appeal this week.
“We feel that we just don’t have any other options at this point,” she said. “We just don’t believe that we can sit back and wait and see.”
Not everybody has come out against the Valley Oaks expansion.
Michael McPeek can see the expansion from his farm in Johnson County (MO) and his property borders the Valley Oaks land.
On Tuesday, he told 41 Action News that jobs created by the expansion could help the area.
“The only thing I can say it represents is progress,” he said. “Anybody they hire that eats at the local restaurant helps the economy.”
In total, Valley Oaks told 41 Action News in February that the expansion project would bring 50-100 jobs.
The Missouri Cattlemen’s Association has also voiced support for Valley Oaks.
On Tuesday, MCA Executive Vice President Mike Deering released this statement:
“The permitting process with DNR is rigorous. It isn’t an easy hurdle and shouldn’t be. State and federal laws heavily regulate livestock feeding and these family farms are at an extremely high level of oversight. Farmers and ranchers take the risk of being at this level of government scrutiny because it’s another way to add opportunities for the next generation to come back to the family farm. I have faith in the permitting process that is rooted in sound science and the process worked. I call on everyone to react with civility and respect on all sides of this.”
With an appeal being filed this week by Powell Gardens, staff said it could take months before a final decision comes down on the matter.
