CCI to DNR: Crack down on multiple manure spills

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 11, 2011

Contact: Natalie Snyders, Organizer 515.282.0484 natalie @ iowacci.org 

CCI members to DNR: Crack down on multiple manure spills

Manure spills in Butler and Hamilton County mark seven manure spills in last five months, in five different counties across Iowa

Des Moines, Iowa - Members of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (Iowa CCI) are calling on the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to levy stiff fines and penalties against two factory farm operators that spilled nearly 20,000 gallons of manure in Hamilton and Butler County over the weekend. This brings the total number of manure spills to seven in just five months.

“We know that factory farms are inherently unsustainable and are not surprised at the high number of manure spills,” said CCI board president Vern Tigges, “Every factory farm in the state is a ticking time bomb ready to go off and release thousands of gallons of manure into our waterways.”

Last Saturday, a 9,500 gallon manure tanker owned by Nick Strohbehn Farms LLC, tipped over and spilled its entire contents near Williams in Hamilton County. Manure spilled into a tile line and flowed to a waterway and killed 200-300 hundred minnows pooled in the water. In Butler County, a second manure tanker owned by Agri-Zone tipped and spilled 9,500 gallons of manure into a ditch. This is the second manure spill in Hamilton County in the last few months. In August, a factory farm operator caused a manure spill killing 27,456 fish in the South Skunk River.

According to DNR sources, there have been seven manure spills in the last five months in Hamilton, Butler, Lee, Benton, Clay and Dubuque counties.

Iowa has the largest concentration of factory farms in the country and some of the most polluted water. Factory farms have caused more than 700 manure spills in the last 15 years in Iowa, resulting in more than 572 polluted waterways.

“CCI members are calling DNR to crack down on factory farm polluters and protect our water. We also must warn the general public to stay vigilant and watch out for spills during the Fall months,” said Tigges, “Due to the number of factory farm operators spreading right now and Governor Branstad gutting DNR funding and enforcement, we need to be the watchdogs out in the field.”

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement is a group of everyday people who talk, act and get things done on issues that matter most. With thousands of members from all walks of life -- urban and rural, black and white, immigrants and lifelong Iowans -- CCI has been tackling tough issues and getting things done for more than 35 years.

For more information about Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, visit www.iowacci.org