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N.D. (NewsDakota.com) Landowners near the site of a proposed hog farm near Buffalo say the state Health Department did not have the authority to grant the operation an animal feeding operation permit.

The landowners say Rolling Green Family Farms needed a different and more stringent permit. The group is also arguing the Health Department should have re-opened a public comment period after Rolling Green submitted amendments to that application.

The state Supreme Court held a hearing on the landowner’s appeal of a lower court decision affirming a permit.

Lawyer Derrick Braaten represents the Concerned Citizens of Buffalo. He told the court the amended application says up to 200,000 piglets could be born each year. He says that contrasts with the earlier application, which put the number of hogs at 9,000.

Attorneys for Rolling Green argue piglets are not counted as “whole animal units.” And attorney Rob Forward told the court the Health Department was not required to reopen the public comment period.           

The high court has taken the case under advisement.