TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas regulators have fined a northwest Kansas swine operation $152,000 for allegedly ignoring orders to halt construction of unauthorized facilities capable of housing tens of thousands of hogs.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports documents it obtained show Nelson Farms owner Terry Nelson and his associates did not get permission from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment before starting to build unauthorized facilities in Phillips and Norton counties.

The Kansas chapter of the Sierra Club and neighbors filed complaints about KDHE’s oversight of construction near the Nebraska border.

An attorney representing the Nelsons says the fines are being challenged, but otherwise declined comment.

Nelson submitted planning documents in October for a facility in Norton County for 9,300 head and a complex in Phillips County capable of handling 24,000 head.