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The state Department of Natural Resources on Friday referred three pollution cases to the attorney general's office involving 2004 fish kills that are believed to have been caused by improper manure handling.
 Archived Coverage |
 8/11/04: Fish kill along river, tributary not as bad as first believed8/9/04: Editorial: Fish kill sends warning7/31/04: Farm manure spills blamed in massive fish kills |
The DNR said that manure was responsible for major fish kills in southwestern Wisconsin on the Pecatonica River in Lafayette and Iowa counties and a tributary, Otter Creek.
Manure was also blamed for a major fish kill on Willow and Smyth Hollow creeks in Richland County. Willow Creek was ranked as one of the top five trout streams in the area.
The DNR referred the cases to the attorney general's office for violation of state water pollution laws. Farmers are allowed to spread manure on farm fields, but not in a manner in which it would wash into nearby waterways.
"Our intent in referring these cases for legal action is to remedy the environmental damage that occurred, and to put in place protections that will minimize the chance of similar events in the future," said Scott Hassett, secretary of the DNR.
In one case, an employee at Reichling Homestead Farms of Darlington kept open a switch that released large volumes of liquid manure from a storage pit. The manure spilled down a hill and into Otter Creek in July. The DNR said 23 species of fish were killed over a 30-mile stretch of the Pecatonica from Darlington to South Wayne.
"What we did was an accidental thing," said Patricia Reichling, when contacted on Friday. "It was very unfortunate."
The same month, the DNR said manure was spread too heavily on the farm of Dennis Fuller of Loyd in Richland County. In addition to Fuller, Cook's Countryside Trucking LLC was referred to the attorney general's office.
The manure is believed to have been responsible for a near complete fish kill on Willow and Smyth Hollow creeks.
Fuller declined to comment. Dana Cook of Cook's Countryside Trucking said he wanted to look at the records on the case before making a comment.
In the third case, the Pecatonica River was once again polluted by a manure spill in October after a valve from a manure pit on the William Moneypenny farm in southwest Iowa County was left partially open, pumping manure into the river. Thousands of fish were killed, the DNR said. Moneypenny was not available for comment.