Hearing officer: State should revoke permit

A final decision on whether to revoke the company's permit is pending.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- State agriculture officials should revoke the operating permit of Ohio's largest egg producer for filing false or misleading information about its ties to an investor accused of violating environmental laws in other states, a hearing officer ruled.
Ohio Fresh Eggs, which has permits for nearly 14 million chickens on farms in Licking, Hardin and Wyandot counties, failed to disclose that Jack DeCoster was involved in the company's day-to-day operations, according to the ruling.
DeCoster, who has operated livestock farms in Maine and Iowa, was labeled a "habitual violator" of environmental laws in Iowa in 2000 and was fined 170,000, according to briefs filed by the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
A final decision on whether to revoke the company's permit is pending with the agriculture department. Harry Palmer, a spokesman for Ohio Fresh Eggs, said the company will pursue every appeal available, including filing legal action.
Palmer said the farms are operating well and will continue to do so.
"Egg prices are up, so we're selling everything we've got," he said.
Company's stance
The company maintains that DeCoster serves as a financial backer, not a manager, and that DeCoster was identified as such when the state approved the purchase of the company, formerly known as Buckeye Egg, in 2004.
Ohio Fresh Eggs and its owners were painstakingly upfront about who they were, what they were doing and why they were doing it, said Joseph Reidy, an attorney representing DeCoster.
But the hearing officer concluded that DeCoster has an agreement with other owners giving him the right to approve hiring or firing of senior management, as well as the right to control management of the farms.
Because DeCoster was not listed as a controlling manager with Ohio Fresh Eggs, the state did not do a background check on him, said department spokesman Bill Schwaderer.
Permits list Orland Bethel and Don Hershey as the owners of Ohio Fresh Eggs. However, they put up just 10,000 and DeCoster has pumped 126 million into the four farms in central and northwest Ohio, according to early testimony in the case.
The ruling is the latest action in a long fight among the egg farm, its neighbors and state officials.
Buckeye Egg, which opened in 1983, had a long history of clean-water law violations and complaints from neighbors about fly and rodent infestations associated with hen manure. The department revoked its permits to operate in 2003.