13 WTHR - Indianapolis News |State to remove 4.5M gallons of manure from farm

State to remove 4.5M gallons of manure from farm

Eaton - A state agency is having 4.5 million gallons of manure removed from an eastern Indiana hog farm that went out of business after being prosecuted for violating environmental laws.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management faces a possible $400,000 bill to have the manure shipped and treated at an Indianapolis sewage plant, although an agency spokesman said it is seeking payment from the current property owners.

A contractor hired by IDEM is working at the farm near the northern Delaware County town of Eaton to empty two pits in barns and lower a lagoon to a safer level.

"IDEM staff assessed conditions of the lagoon and barns, and determined that immediate action was necessary to prevent the potential for a spill," agency spokesman Barry Sneed told The Star Press of Muncie.

Muncie Sow Unit LLC has pleaded guilty to a felony charge of failing to maintain its 12-million gallon manure lagoon at a level to prevent overflows.

Judi Calhoun, a deputy county prosecutor, said the corporation's sentencing has been scheduled for June 3. When the corporation pleaded guilty in October, prosecutors dropped three felony environmental charges against the defunct farm's owner, Jacobus John Tielen, 40, formerly of Eaton.

Since 1999, Tielen has been fined more than $21,000 for spilling manure, failing to report manure spills, killing fish and other violations.

Julie Alexander, a member of Indiana CAFO Watch, complained that taxpayers were having to pay for cleaning up the large hog farm, which fell under state regulations for a concentrated animal feeding operation.

"It is evident that IDEM was not able to provide the oversight and regulation needed to make this swine CAFO in compliance," Alexander said.

Sneed said new owners bought the property last year and that the agency was working with them "to address the situation."

It will cost IDEM 9 cents a gallon to have the manure trucked and treated in Indianapolis, or $405,000 for the full 4.5 million gallons. However, it will cost only 2 cents a gallon if the manure can be spread on land as fertilizer.

"IDEM will continue to bring the manure to Indianapolis until the ground is dry enough to allow land application," Sneed said. "At that point we will land apply as much as we can."

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