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Iowa hog farm notified of lawsuit

November 22, 2013, Des Moines, IA – A coalition of community, environmental and animal welfare organizations sent a notice of intent to sue The Maschhoffs, LLC over alleged repeated discharges of hog manure to waterways from one of its Iowa factory farms.

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (ICCI) and the Humane Society of the United States intend to file suit alleging violations of the federal Clean Water Act unless the facility obtains a Clean Water Act permit and the Illinois-based company can guarantee that its almost 7,500-head Keosauqua Sow facility will not discharge any further pollution into Iowa’s waterways.

The sow facility is located in Van Buren County, Iowa, near the Des Moines River and annually produces more than 11 million gallons of manure that is spread on surrounding land.

According to the coalition, on November 4, a clogged pipe in the facility’s manure management system caused the discharge of thousands of gallons of manure into an on-site creek. The creek empties into a section of the Des Moines River.