March 23, 2010, Kansas
City, KA – A dairy operation in Sioux County, IA, has agreed to pay a $26,288
civil penalty to the U.S. to settle allegations that it discharged animal waste
pollutants from its facility into a tributary of the Orange City Slough without
having a necessary permit.
March 23, 2010, Kansas
City, KA – A dairy operation in Sioux County, IA, has agreed to pay a $26,288
civil penalty to the U.S. to settle allegations that it discharged animal waste
pollutants from its facility into a tributary of the Orange City Slough without
having a necessary permit.
Stoutjesdyk Dairy LLC of
Maurice, IA, did not have a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) permit at the time of an April 2009 inspection by EPA Region 7,
according to a consent agreement and final order filed in Kansas City, KA. In
November 2009, EPA inspectors documented an illegal discharge at the dairy
operation.
NPDES permits are
required for operations that contain 700 or more dairy cattle, under
requirements of the federal Clean Water Act. A permit is required even if the
facility contains livestock in separate open and closed facilities within
operation, as was the case with Stoutjesdyk Dairy. At the time of the
inspection, the agreement says, Stoutjesdyk Dairy was confining approximately
1,260 dairy cows at the location, making it subject to regulation as a large
concentrated animal feeding operation.
Wastes from the dairy
operation flowed through multiple paths into a tributary of the nearby Orange
City Slough. The tributary flows approximately 0.5 miles to its confluence with
Orange City Slough.
Through the consent
agreement, Stoutjesdyk Dairy has certified that it will cease all illegal
discharges and comply with the Clean Water Act.
