The Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality have reconsidered and modified a confined animal feeding operation permit for a proposed large chicken farm near Scio.

The agencies’ solution for J-S Ranch, which could house 566,400 chickens at a time, will be a national pollutant discharge elimination system individual permit.

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That permit will regulate the manure, litter and processed wastewater generated by the farm to ensure that its activities don’t harm water quality.

J-S Ranch had been previously permitted under a general water pollution control facility permit in May 2022.

The initial CAFO permit for J-S Ranch was withdrawn by the state in April as ODA and DEQ were being sued over the potential for pollution from the ag operation.

The state had given itself a deadline of Oct. 31 to affirm, modify or reverse the initial permit decision.

The new proposal doesn’t have major changes at first glance, according to Eric Simon, a longtime poultry farmer who plans to build J-S Ranch, and opponents of the operation.

An online public hearing regarding the new CAFO permit is scheduled for 2-3 p.m. Sept. 16. Written comments about the matter are being accepted until Sept. 23.

ODA and DEQ will consider comments and may proceed as proposed, request modifications or deny permit issuance.

Chicken farmer hopeful

Simon said he was hopeful about constructing his new chicken farm.

“Not being able to build this year has been a real hardship for my family,” he said.

Simon said the new national permit had court precedence that could allow it to better withstand legal challenges.

“They’ve cleaned things up a little bit. They’ve changed the way they’re going to monitor groundwater, but that’s about it,” Simon said.

“They’ve worked really hard to make sure I can farm, because they know local agriculture is a good thing for the state,” he added.

Simon said he has a strong history of compliance with regulations, and J-S Ranch will fill the role of chicken farms lost to urban sprawl and older growers retiring.

“We’re not looking to expand. We’re looking to replace,” Simon said.

Lawsuit likely to continue

A trial in the lawsuit regarding J-S ranch was set to start in May before the state withdrew its permit.

The modified CAFO likely won’t stop litigation, said Amy van Saun, senior attorney for the Center for Food Safety, a national nonprofit based in Portland that is representing plaintiffs in the case.

“It doesn’t appear that much has changed, other than the name of the permit. We still have many of the same issues with the operation,” van Saun added.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Farmers Against Foster Farms, Friends of Family Farmers, Willamette Riverkeeper and Christina Eastman, whose family farm is next to the J-S Ranch property.

Since the modified permit is new, van Saun said it should be under new Senate Bill 85 rules, including a 1-mile setback for CAFOs in Linn County that commissioners approved in December in response to community outcry regarding proposed large chicken farms. Commissioners reaffirmed that ruling applied to chicken farms only in June.

J-S Ranch was issued its initial CAFO permit before Senate Bill 85’s passage and had secured building permits prior to the Linn County commissioners’ setback decision.