Manure Runoff Prompts Fines County, State Are Driven To Action After Runoff Causes Trout Kill On Sugar River Wisconsin State Journal :: LOCAL/WISCONSIN :: B3 Saturday, July 9, 2005
Ron Seely Wisconsin State Journal
A farmer and a commercial manure hauler each face fines of $2,682 for
allowing tons of animal waste to pollute the Sugar River late last
winter. The Department of Natural Resources announced the citations Friday.
Dane County had invested nearly $1 million in cleaning up and restoring
the river over several years before the spill. The manure, which ran
off a frozen field, killed at least 165 trout. Cited were Jones
Brothers Dairy LLC, rural Mount Horeb, and Steven Van Den Bergh, the
owner of Back Woods Slurry, Hillsboro. Each faced a $517 fine for the
water pollution violation and $2,165 in wild animal protection
surcharges for the dead trout.
Charges could have been more severe, according to DNR Conservation
Warden Dave Wood, "but we took into account the excellent cooperation
and contributions by the two parties who immediately took steps to halt
the runoff after being made aware of the problem." The Sugar
River kill, as well as several other instances where winter-spread
manure ran into area lakes and streams, prompted a flurry of activity
from county and state officials concerned about polluted runoff. Dane
County convened a manure runoff task force that presented
recommendations on the regulation of winter-spread manure at this
week's board meeting. Also, a joint committee of the Department
of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and the Department of
Natural Resources is looking at such regulations statewide. Topf
Wells, chief of staff for Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, said the
proposals for regulating the spreading of manure during times when
fields are frozen are a positive outcome of the Sugar River kill.
The Dane County task force met six times and came up with a proposal
that calls for a prohibition on winter manure spreading within 300 feet
of a stream or 1,000 feet of a lake. It also regulates winter spreading
based on a field's slope. No spreading would be allowed on a field with
a slope greater than 12 percent. Also under the regulations, farmers in
Dane County would be required to have a winter manure spreading plan. Dane County Board member Brett Hulsey, who chaired the task force, said the recommendations were well received by the board. "I think people were generally impressed that we had a thorough process," Hulsey said.
One area that needs more attention, Hulsey added, is the regulation of
commercial manure spreaders. Contract spreaders are not regulated by
the state, he said. The Dane County task force, he added, recommended
that all professional haulers operating in the county join the
Professional Nutrient Applicators Association of Wisconsin and receive
training. Hulsey said he hopes the state manure panel will consider more strict statewide regulation and certification of haulers.
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