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Manure spill may have been deliberate


May 14, 2009  by  Marg Land

NEWS HIGHLIGHT

Manure spill may have been deliberate
Indiana Department of Environmental
Management (IDEM) investigators believe a recent lagoon breach at the
former Muncie Sow facility may have been an intentional act.

May 14, 2009, Indianapolis, Ind. – Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) investigators believe a recent lagoon breach at the former Muncie Sow facility may have been an intentional act.

The IDEM is working at the former swine facility to assess the impacts from manure that was released from a lagoon May 10.

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Muncie Sow was formerly a Confined Feeding Operation (CFO) and is located north of Muncie, Ind. It has been closed for several years. The business was shut down after being prosecuted for environmental crimes. The IDEM had been working with the current property owners to remove about 4.5 million gallons of manure from the lagoon. An IDEM contractor had been working at the site to pump and transport manure from the lagoon.

“This apparently deliberate act is extremely unfortunate and IDEM is actively investigating the cause of the damage to the lagoon wall,” said Anne Hazlett, Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) director. “We support IDEM as they take necessary measures to enforce the law and rid our state of bad actors. Indiana livestock producers take great pride in their environmental stewardship. They comply with stringent federal and state environmental regulations, in addition to many voluntary practices to protect our environment. This incident in no way reflects the vast majority of our state's livestock producers who are deeply committed to protecting our environment.”

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