For immediate release: November 3, 2009

DALLAS COUNTY MANURE RELEASE REACHES MIDDLE RACCOON RIVER FEEDER STREAM

MEDIA CONTACT: Ted Petersen, DNR field office, at (515) 250-3869 or [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>

LINDEN — A Dallas County swine facility is cleaning up Tuesday following a manure release that reached a stream and came near the Raccoon River Valley Trail.

Employees at the facility, located about 1.5 miles southeast of Linden, noticed an above-ground manure storage structure leaking Monday. The manure flowed into an area designed to contain spills, but an emergency shutoff valve on a drainage tile line failed, allowing manure to continue flowing to a ravine. The ravine runs to an unnamed tributary of the Middle Raccoon River.

“This is a reminder for producers with similar secondary storage structures designed to prevent manure releases to make sure to dewater any accumulated rainfall from those structures, so that they can handle an emergency event like this,” said Ted Petersen with the DNR’s Des Moines field office.

While 1,000 gallons of manure escaped the storage facility Monday, employees estimate only 500 gallons reached the unnamed tributary. Carstens Livestock, Inc., of Bagley, owns the swine operation.

Carstens reported the manure release to the DNR field office quickly, allowing DNR staff to assist onsite with containing the manure while Carstens employees worked to stop the discharge and make repairs. Carstens continues cleanup on Tuesday, pumping manure from the storage structure and land applying it. DNR staff observed live fish upstream of the manure release Monday, but did not see any live or dead fish downstream.

Carstens will also cleanup on Tuesday liquid manure that leaked near the Raccoon River Valley Trail southeast of Linden.

The DNR will continue to investigate and may consider possible enforcement action.

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