Civic leaders in Hermiston, Ore., have instructed the city’s manager to hire an attorney to challenge the location of a horse processing plant proposed for development there.

Horse processing has not taken place in the U.S. since 2007 when a combination of legislation and court decisions shuttered remaining plants in Illinois and Texas. However horse processing in the United States became possible again last year when Congress reinstated funding for USDA inspections at horse processing plant facilities. No horse slaughter facilities are currently operating in the United States.

Earlier this year, Quarter Horse trainer David Duquette proposed the development of a horse processing plant on a 250-acre parcel in Hermiston, Ore. The development would also include an algae farm to treat plant-generated waste and an onsite "rescue and rejuvenation program" to identify horses seized by law enforcement authorities in animal cruelty cases that are suitable for retraining and rehoming. Duquette estimated that the proposed pant and complex would employ between 50 and 100 workers.

However, Mark Morgan, Hermiston’s assistant city manager, said that earlier this month Mayor Robert E. Severson and the members of the City Council unanimously instructed the City Manager Ed Brookshier to hire an attorney to battle the plant development should the Umatilla County Department of Land Use Planning approve a development request from Duquette