Liquid Manure Runoff

[FarmerDave]

franklin wrote:

Yep. Couple years ago there was a case where a farmer on Elk Creek (the trib to Penns near Milheim) put too much manure on his field and caused a fish kill at a private hatchery. The farmer was fined for exceeding the amount of manure he could apply and, as I remember, the conditions of the field. At the time there was a thread on this forum about the incident and all the details.

Is that the one where the guy got the poop truck stuck and "unloaded it" in order to get it out? If so, I remember that thread.

They do investigate reported incidents.

 

[franklin]

FarmerDave wrote:

franklin wrote:

Yep. Couple years ago there was a case where a farmer on Elk Creek (the trib to Penns near Milheim) put too much manure on his field and caused a fish kill at a private hatchery. The farmer was fined for exceeding the amount of manure he could apply and, as I remember, the conditions of the field. At the time there was a thread on this forum about the incident and all the details.

Is that the one where the guy got the poop truck stuck and "unloaded it" in order to get it out? If so, I remember that thread.

They do investigate reported incidents.

I don't remember a truck involved. I believe the farmer was Amish.

Edit: Did a quick search and turned this up.
http://www.pennfuture.org/UserFiles09/042109ManurePollutionToElkCreek.pdf

 

[FarmerDave]

Those stealthy little bearded bas-----.

 

[BrookieChaser]

Amish...

 

[duckfoot]

BrookieChaser wrote:
Amish...

Some of the richest people in the state.

 

[BrookieChaser]

No doubt.

 

[RCFetter]

duckfoot wrote:

BrookieChaser wrote:
Amish...

Some of the richest people in the state.

 

[franklin]

RCFetter wrote:

duckfoot wrote:

BrookieChaser wrote:
Amish...

Some of the richest people in the state.

Only 1 HP?

 

[BrookieChaser]

Actually closer to 3. 1 horse produces about 3 horsepower.

 

[foxtrapper1972]

franklin- I read the letter in the link. Wonder what out come was? Sounds like agency investigating incident did little to make sure something does not happen again....(even after several incidents). (Or the farms did not meet criteria for being regulated?).

If (when) I witness any more problems I plan to report them. Who would I report these type of incidents to?

 

[franklin]

foxtrapper1972 wrote:
franklin- I read the letter in the link. Wonder what out come was? Sounds like agency investigating incident did little to make sure something does not happen again....(even after several incidents). (Or the farms did not meet criteria for being regulated?).

If (when) I witness any more problems I plan to report them. Who would I report these type of incidents to?

I believe there were some fines from that incident.

To report I'd start with PA DEP. If there is obvious pollution of a water way I'd also look to PFBC. Your county may also have an agency that has related responsibilities.

 

[FarmerDave]

foxtrapper1972 wrote:
franklin- I read the letter in the link. Wonder what out come was? Sounds like agency investigating incident did little to make sure something does not happen again....(even after several incidents). (Or the farms did not meet criteria for being regulated?).

If (when) I witness any more problems I plan to report them. Who would I report these type of incidents to?

As far as I know, there are no farms too small to "regulate."

If you dumped a barrel full of poop in a storm drain, you could be fined as well.

Who do you report it to?

I agree with Franklin to start with PA DEP, but I don't live in PA anymore.

Over here, we also have county Soil and Water.

 

[rrt]

I'm real late on this topic. This early spring/late winter, I saw the worst liquid manure run-off I have ever seen. In one instance I actually thought a pipe had ruptured: it was that bad, and it ran into an adjacent creek. Fortunately, it did not appear to have killed any fish, but who know about the long-term deleterious results?
I believe this is indeed pollution, and the stench of freshly applied liquid manure is certainly an air pollutant.

But, if a farmer is taken to task for polluting a stream, all he has to do is post his land, contact his neighbors to post theirs, and eventually access to much stream frontage is lost. We really cannot afford to lose any more fishing access.

Yes, I know they do not intentionally pollute streams, that they need the manure for fertilizer -- but pollution episodes happen more frequently than we want to admit. The farmers must do what they can to make a living in this tight economy, and I sympathize with them. But, as time passes in heavily farmed areas, I believe streams are inevitably going to die from the nitrogen pollution from liquid manure run-off. I also believe that the nitrogen and other pollutants will seep into aquifers and pollute them as has happened with the Oglalla Aquifer in the Midwest.

Please do not take this as anti-farming. My wife grew up on a dairy farm, and a number of my friends are hard-working farmers. But, in the area where I live, I am afraid that liquid manure run-off is the number one threat to water quality.

 

[duckfoot]

rrt wrote:
My wife grew up on a dairy farm, and a number of my friends are hard-working farmers. But, in the area where I live, I am afraid that liquid manure run-off is the number one threat to water quality.

Does that mean she's immune to smallpox? :lol:

You're correct for calling it nitrogen pollution, because in fact, that's exactly what it is. As for what it turns into...that's up for debate.

My research found that as long as the water is moving, the effects are minuscule at best.

What we've got to be worried about is what you said...water storages and drainage basins. This is why wellwater gets tested often in places where the well only reaches to the bedrock, but not below it.

It's also why there's so much conservation in regards to the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.