A shoutout to the people of Buffalo, N.D., who refuse to be intimidated by an out-of-state factory hog farm company and the company's allies in North Dakota state government. Facing long odds—made longer by state regulations that have been designed to bypass legitimate local objections—Concerned Citizens of Buffalo filed a lawsuit seeking to block the hog farm. They resorted to legal action when it became clear to them that the state's permitting procedures put economic interests ahead of the community's health.

For its part, Pipestone Holdings, the Minnesota company seeking to build a 9,000-hog operation near the small Cass County town, responded that it had met all requirements of the state's permitting process and intends to proceed. The permitting agency, the state Health Department, responded to the lawsuit diplomatically, saying the people of Buffalo had every right to question permit requirements and to take the matter to court.

Both responses are valid. The problem, however, is that North Dakota's standards for allowing factory hog farms do not give sufficient weight to the voices of people who would be most affected. It can be argued that the process tilts in favor of development at the expense of potential damage to land, water and the livability of the target neighborhood. It can be further argued that Pipestone Holdings, in the form of idyllic-sounding Rolling Green Family Farms, looked north for its new pig factory because it has been unable to expand in Minnesota or South Dakota, where environmental and other safeguards are tougher.

Not to worry, state officials told Pipestone, come to North Dakota. It is said that no less than state Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring invited the company to set up its operation in Cass County. The obvious message in such an invite is that the company need not be concerned about a burdensome permitting process—that water, land and air quality regulations in allegedly pig-hungry North Dakota won't get in the way.