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September 7, 2010,
Emmetsburg, IA – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has traced a
small fish kill northeast of Emmetsburg to a manure release.
Following a call to its
Spencer field office, the DNR found a small number of dead chubs, minnows and
crawfish in a tributary of Cylinder Creek.
An investigation traced
the fish kill to a hog manure release, which reached the stream through a tile
line. Jon Ehmen, the farm operator, had been pumping manure from a storage pit
onto the ground periodically for a month to create more storage. He told the
DNR he did not know there was a tile line nearby that could send the manure to
the creek. Ehmen’s brother, Paul Ehmen, owns the farm.
The DNR also observed live
fish in the stream. The DNR may consider possible enforcement action.
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