Iowa DNR News
Environmental Services Division
For immediate
release Jan. 26, 2007
For more information, contact Barb Lynch, DNR's
field office bureau chief, at (712) 260-1728; or Dan Olson, environmental
specialist in the Atlantic DNR field office, at (712) 243-1934.
DNR TAKES
ENFORCEMENT ACTION ON OPEN FEEDLOTS
DES MOINES * The DNR formally
notified three open feedlot producers in southwest Iowa this week that they were
in violation of state water quality standards after manure-laden runoff from
their feedlots was discharged to a stream.
The following producers have
received a draft consent order with an offer to negotiate:
* Crossroads
Cattle in Harrison County,
* Schomers Cattle in Shelby County, and
*
Pheasant Ridge Farms in Pottawattamie County.
In addition to monetary
penalties in each case, the DNR is requiring Schomers Cattle and Crossroads
Cattle to apply for and obtain an operating permit, also called a National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System or NPDES permit.
"Evidence of a
discharge and impact to a stream was found in all these cases," said Barb Lynch,
chief of DNR's field offices. "It's important for producers to anticipate
discharges below their open feedlots, especially after spring or fall rainfall
or during freeze-thaw events in the winter.
"That's when it's most
likely for a discharge to occur," she added. "Many of these could be avoided
with runoff control structures and frequent manure removal.
Crossroads
Cattle discharged into an unnamed tributary of Willow Creek. Schomers and
Pheasant Ridge discharged into unnamed tributaries of Mosquito Creek and Little
Mosquito Creek respectively.
The discharges were found during
inspections of open feedlots in the spring of 2006 as part of a joint initiative
with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA and the Iowa DNR
inspected a total of 50 open feedlots. The EPA is taking action on four other
open feedlots in Woodbury (two), Sioux, and Cass Counties.
Lynch added
that if a discharge causes discolored or smelly water in a stream or lake that
would be a violation of water quality standards. Any discharge that causes a
fish kill would also be a violation.
Producers can improve water quality
and protect themselves from violations by installing and maintaining runoff
control structures, and keeping manure-laden runoff out of streams.
- 30
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Karen Grimes
515-281-5135
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