MO:Local health department can’t regulate hog farm, judge rules

A judge in northwest Missouri has ruled that the Andrew County Health Department’s regulation of a large hog farming operation is invalid and not enforceable.   Circuit Judge Randall Jackson ruled that Missouri statutes don’t authorize the county health department to pass an ordinance regulating the operation of concentrated animal farming operations, even for health-related purposes, the News-Press reported. Only county commissions have the authority to pass such regulatory ordinances, and then only in accordance with Missouri law, the judge said.