Groups Applaud Decision to Revoke Lost Valley Permit
Portland, OR â?? Under intense pressure from family farm, environmental, animal welfare and public health organizations, today Oregon agencies took the first step towards shutting down Lost Valley mega-dairy by revoking the water pollution discharge permit it needs to operate. More than 4,000 Oregonians submitted comments opposing the state's approval of Lost Valley over a year ago, before the full extent of its environmental and animal cruelty disasters were revealed.
Statement by Food & Water Watch, Oregon Rural Action, Friends of Family Farmers, Friends of the Columbia Gorge, Columbia Riverkeeper, Center for Food Safety, Center for Biological Diversity, Animal Legal Defense Fund, and the Humane Society of the United States:
"Lost Valley Farm has been a mess since the day it opened its doors. State inspections have documented cows standing ankle-deep in a slurry of their own waste, overflowing manure lagoons and "mortality" boxes. Its violations have put drinking water for local families at risk. The state's action today follows a renewed call from numerous organizations which sent a letter to Governor Brown last month asking that her administration shut down Lost Valley, along with emails from nearly 3,000 concerned citizens. We applaud the permit revocation as an important victory for animal welfare and against mega-dairy water and air pollution, which pose massive environmental and public health risks in Oregon and across the country."
