MANURE AND
LIQUID NITROGEN SPILLS OCCUR IN NORTH CENTRAL IOWA
MEDIA CONTACT:
David Hopper
at 641-425-9310 (cell) or [log in to unmask]
DES MOINES –
The DNR warns manure and nutrient applicators to slow down and take care during
the fall application season. Two manure spills and a 28 percent liquid nitrogen
spill were reported to the DNR over the weekend in north central Iowa.
A 9,500-gallon
manure applicator wagon, owned by Nick Strohbehn Farms LLC, overturned Saturday
afternoon on Ubben Ave. a few miles southwest of Williams in Hamilton County.
Its contents entered a tile line and flowed to a waterway. Although there was no
water flow, approximately 200 to 300 minnows were killed in several pools. Nick
Strohbehn Farms erected dikes and pumped the manure out and land applied
it. The tile was flushed and the flush water was applied to
land.
In another
incident in Grundy County on Sunday afternoon, a local firefighter noticed
liquid flowing from a hose connected to a fertilizer secondary containment on
Heartland Co-op property in Holland. A float-activated pump had been set up to
remove rainwater. A 28 percent liquid nitrogen tank leaked in the containment
and approximately 2,000 gallons was pumped to the ground surface. Seneca, an
environmental consulting/emergency response company, will remove the spilled
fertilizer. The spill did not reach a tile or waterway.
A third
incident also involved an overturned 9,500-gallon manure applicator, this one
owned by Agri-Zone. Contents spilled in a road ditch on Forest Avenue
between 160th St and 170th St. near Bristow in Butler
County. The manure has been pumped out and will be land applied on adjacent
fields with the permission of the property owner. No tiles or waterways were
impacted.
With water at
low levels, it doesn’t take much to cause a water quality problem or fish kill.
Producers and applicators are urged to have a plan in place so if spills occur,
they can act quickly to stop or reduce environmental
impacts.
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