The Daily News-Record of Harrisonburg, Virginia, reported that a state agency levied $11,700 in fines and fees against dairy producer Allen Shank after an overflow of liquid manure from a storage pit on his facility ended up in a nearby creek.

According to the newspaper article, Shank, whose Golden View Farm has less than 200 head of dairy cattle, does not have a license allowing him to discharge waste into state waters. He uses a land-application program to manage manure.

An accidental waste discharge in March 2009 resulted in a complaint being sent to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

On April 9 of this year, the DEQ issued Shank an order requiring him to pay $2,925 of the fine within 30 days and satisfy the remaining $8,775 by completing a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) by Aug. 1 and paying any leftover part of the fine out of pocket.

As part of the SEP, Shank must install a liquid-solid separator to reduce the amount of waste that goes into the storage pit.

The case took more than three years because officials were waiting for the Natural Resources Conservation Service to offer cost-share funding for the separator, said David Robinett, enforcement specialist with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.  PD

—From the Daily News-Record (To read the full article, click here and then search the archives for "dairy manure".)