blake
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Iowa pork producer sentenced in fish kill
Careless and deliberate dumping of liquid manure resulted in a major fish kill in an Iowa creek – and financial restitution for the offender.
An Iowa farmer has learned that there are legal consequences for deliberately dumping manure on the ground. His actions directly led to more than 150,000 dead fish.
The case prompted state officials to remind producers that they can seek assistance in disposing of liquid manure and other wastes, rather than just dumping and hoping to get away with it.
Here is the release from the Environmental Services Division of Iowa DNR:
Anders Knudsen, of rural Mona, Iowa, was sentenced in Iowa's Second Judicial District Court for actions resulting in a significant 2009 fish kill in Otter Creek, a tributary of the Cedar River in northwest Mitchell County.
Knudsen was convicted of negligent disposal of a pollutant, a serious misdemeanor, in violation of Iowa Code section 455B.186 and 455B.191(2). The district court judge sentenced Knudsen to a $315 fine and $10,000 in restitution for the fish kill. Neither the fine nor restitution were suspended.
Knudsen admittedly pumped liquid swine manure from a confinement pit to the ground surface for a period of approximately six hours on Sept. 6, 2009. A fish kill in Otter Creek was reported to the DNR the following day. A subsequent investigation by DNR Environmental Services Division personnel revealed that the manure flowed over land from the confinement site, through a standing cornfield, through a pasture and into Otter Creek. DNR Fisheries Bureau personnel determined that a total of 151,086 fish were killed with a total value of $32,681.61.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency strongly considered prosecuting the matter as a criminal case, but ultimately did not do so. Due to the monetary value involved, the DNR requested the Environmental Protection Commission refer the case to the Iowa Attorney General's Office, which it did. The attorney general's office subsequently took the case and filed a criminal complaint in district court. Knudsen could have faced a $25,000 fine in addition to the fish restitution of more than $32,000. Knudsen pled guilty of the charge and did address the court, apologizing for the incident. He has paid the fine and restitution.
According to Trent Lambert, DNR Environmental Specialist, this incident should serve as a reminder to producers that there can be serious environmental consequences associated with manure handling practices.
"In this case, we had a producer who did not want his pits to overflow, but also knew that pumping manure onto the ground was illegal. He did it anyway, and it resulted in a large fish kill," Lambert said.
Lambert also pointed out that this was not a type of incident most people associate with fish kills, such as an accidental spill, or when manure enters a tile line and causes a problem.
"Instead, Knudsen assumed the manure would simply flow into the cornfield and soak into the ground. This case illustrates how such a seemingly harmless action can have such a damaging effect," said Lambert.
DNR environmental field offices can assist producers when they face issues such as a shortage of manure storage capacity.
"We want to stress the importance of communication when these situations arise for producers. Each year, we assist numerous producers with this matter, but we have to know about it in order to help," Lambert said. "There is a good chance this incident could have been prevented had the producer contacted the field office prior to pumping manure onto the ground."
This post is for informational purposes only.
