VALENTINE, Neb. - The Nebraska Supreme Court opened its session Tuesday with a case centered on a hog confinement facility near Crookston in north-central Nebraska.

The case, Amorak Inc. vs Cherry County Board of Commissioners and Danielski Harvesting and Farming LLC, questions whether a conditional use permit for the facility was properly issued. In 2021, the Cherry County Board of Commissioners approved a conditional use permit for the confinement. After that, an area landowner and his corporation, Amorak, sued Cherry County alleging that the permit was improperly issued. The District Court sided with Cherry County, but now the case has reached the Nebraska Supreme Court.

“Appellants respectfully request that this court reverse the decision of the District Court,” said attorney Brian McKernan, who is representing Amorak.

The appellants argue that the District Court made three critical errors. Two revolve around whether the zoning regulations were met concerning odors and groundwater contamination. The third focuses on who applied for the permit. While the company that applied,  Danielski Harvesting and Farming, owns the land and building, it doesn’t own the pigs.

“What those zoning regulations require are assurances by the owner and/or operator,” said McKernan.

“It doesn’t say operator,” said Justice Jonathan James Papik.

“In certain instances it does,” said McKernan.

“The odor regulation doesn’t,” said Papik.

“The odor regulations relate solely to the owner of the confined animal feed and use,” said McKernan.

“What’s the owner of the use? That’s a concept that I don’t know we see a lot in the laws. We see ownership of property but ownership of a use,” said Papik.

“I understand that. What we’re dealing with here are obviously not the appellant’s zoning regulations, but the county zoning regulations. The zoning regulations define a confined animal feeding use as the raising, the feeding or the management of more than 300 animal units at any one time. Raising, feeding or management—it doesn’t talk about the ownership,” said McKernan.

However, attorneys for Cherry County and Danielski say that the owner of the property was the correct entity to apply for the permit.

“The specific zoning regulation at issue, Your Honor, Sections 1001 says that the Cherry County Board of Commissioners may grant conditional use permits to property owners for the use of their property. The property owner here is Danielski Harvesting and Farming,” said attorney Stephen Mossman, who is representing Danielski.

“Where are the remedies for a misuse of the property? Those remedies and use all go to the owner of the property, rather than the operator of the property,” said Cherry County Attorney Eric Scott.

The Nebraska Supreme Court will make a decision at a later date.

If you would like to view the full oral argument, the video will be uploaded to the Nebraska Judicial Branch website.