News-Leader

Published February 23, 2008

 Farm tour allegedly closed to the public Planned MACC meeting violates Sunshine Law. At the last meeting of the Missouri Air Conservation Committee, under "Meeting Schedule" on the agenda was a notation that a tour was scheduled at Premium Standard Farms Inc. on March 26. The MACC is the body — created by statute — that oversees the Air Pollution Control Program of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. APCP personnel serve as staff for the MACC. MACC also establishes policies, positions, and adopts regulations about air quality. Members are nominated by the governor and approved by the state Senate. Members serve without compensation, but expenses (meals, lodging, travel) are paid for with public monies. All of this makes the MACC a public body, subject to the Open Meetings and Records Act. The act is a state law — Chapter 610 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri — and is known commonly as the Sunshine Act in that the intent is to shine the sun on actions of public bodies and elected officials. But, in a rather blatant attempt to avoid complying with this law, a reporter from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was told that this was NOT a meeting that the public could attend, but was a tour of a private operation. I sent an e-mail to Jim Kavanaugh, director of the APCP, informing him that I, reporters, attorneys and other citizens intended to attend. He forwarded my e-mail to David Gilmore, public relations guy for the MACC. Gilmore referred to my "request" and stated that I needed to submit this to Robert Brundage, attorney with the law firm of Newman, Conley, and Ruth and legal counsel for the Missouri Agriculture Industry organization. Gilmore was then informed that my e-mail in no way was a request, but rather was a simple notice of intent to attend a public meeting, so that arrangements could be made. I further noted that it was not at all understood why it was necessary to seek approval from an attorney with a private law firm in order to attend a public meeting and asked for an explanation of this. There was also no indication at which of PSF's many facilities the "tour" would be conducted. Kavanaugh then sent an e-mail stating that Gilmore was not at work due to an illness, and that the "tour" might not take place due to scheduling conflicts. Then, I received a message from Kavanaugh that the tour had been canceled. It should be noted that the MACC is currently considering regulations to impose odor controls on most factory hog operations. It should also be noted that representatives of Premium Standard Farms and the Missouri Pork Producers Council are on record as adamantly opposing such controls. The concern — in addition to ignoring a state law — was that employees of the hog operations would have members of MACC all to themselves during this private "tour" and would lobby the members to adopt the positions of Premium Standard Farms. Whatever. This was apparently yet another attempt by a public entity, operating with public funds, to avoid complying with state law — and provides yet another example why we need a Sunshine Act.

Hogs lean up against a fence inside one of Premium Standard Farms' metal barns near Princeton in this file photo. A meeting of the Missouri Air Conservation Committee was to include a tour of one of PSF's facilities, but a reporter and members of the public were told they could not attend. Associated Press file photo, 1996 Ken Midkiff

One more time citizens have to teach public officials that their meetings are open to the public according to Missouri's Open Records and Meetings Act. Sierra Club Water Sentinel, Ken Midkiff says that state officials seem as able to understand that as a pig can learn to fly.