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State Environmental Regulators Will Launch Online Tool To Track Animal Operations Complaints

A large chicken house, or CAFO in North Carolina. KERI BROWN/WFDD

A new website from state environmental regulators will make it easier for people to find out information about animal feeding operations in an aim for more transparency – specifically, it will make complaints lodged against them accessible.

Right now, you need a need a court order to get complaint records for farm operations, including swine and poultry. The public can access information only if a violation is determined. But this new online portal makes that process a little easier.

Christine Lawson with the Department of Environmental Quality says the agency will post the total number of complaints it receives and investigates for animal feeding operations. And if a violation is determined, more data will be posted. 

“We will then provide additional information specific to that complaint, which would be the incident number, the date the complaint was received, the county where it occurred, the regional office responsible for the investigation, the address where the incident occurred and the permit or deemed permit number that is assigned to this violation,” says Lawson.

This new measure comes after a legal settlement with several environmental groups.

Lawson says they don't yet a launch date, but are aiming to have the new site up and running as soon as possible.

*Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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