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Enviro-Michers: Starting
at least October 27 and continuing still today, a livestock operation in the
Hudson area that has been busted twice by DEQ for violations of the Clean Water
Act in the last three years, has been hauling their CAFO wastes and the lagoon
bottom itself by dump trucks onto fields, dumping the wastes and not plowing
any of it under (the operation is evidently increasing the size of its waste
storage cesspool and digging down through the floor of the lagoon). The
photos of the dump trucks carrying and dumping huge quantities of materials
from the bottom of the anaerobic cesspools where the waste festers until it is
used to destroy the quality of life of the neighbors suggest that this must be
an evil joke for Halloween since not even the most out of whack CAFO advocate
could call this “agronomic rates” of application. And there
is even a bigger joke: DEQ funded this operation to put in what is called a
“sub-irrigation” system, what amounts to a huge septic field full
of CAFO wastes. Today the lagoon wastes are even being spread on top of this
supposed showcase project, which seems like it should not meet the standards
for the grant. The goal of this design is to create a way to allow the uptake
of nutrients from the waste in the pipes under the field so spreading wastes on
top of this is neither part of the plan nor is it even close to
“agronomic”. The
neighbors, including children and ill adults, have been suffering ill effects
and the stench is spreading for miles. The children are complaining of
headaches, and, gosh, wouldn’t it be special to be able to go trick or
treating in their neighborhood tonight! But with rain predicted, maybe
staying inside won’t be such a bad idea, since the waste will then likely
make its way into waterways and, if we are lucky, there might be another Clean
Water Act citation against this facility again. The
locals have been forced to find a new word to describe the stench, since the
repeat performances of outrageous stench and water pollution have led to an
apparent numbness from the authorities who are supposed to take action to
enforce the protection of the environment and public health -- the word
“feculent” has made its way into the lexicon, and perhaps at least
some effort will be made to investigate its meaning. When contacted, the DEQ Water Bureau has indicated this
operation falls under the threshold for an NPDES permit, and so despite its
lousy record and it’s current and ongoing horror, it may not get a
look. The ping pong between DEQ Air Quality and MDA continues on, with no
immediate response from DEQ expected, and MDA not responding yet to the
complaints. MDA may have the authority for enforcing GAAMPs (generally
accepted agriculture management practices prescribed under the Right to Farm
Act), but even if the operation is found in violation now, all that means is
the victims of these horrible circumstances have a brief window to sue them for
a nuisance. However, operations that have clearly had violations both of
GAAMPs and of environmental regulations have routinely been returned to
“verified” status under GAAMPs in subsequent reviews, so timing is
everything. A CAFO operator can game the system pretty well with a little
experience. And the stench goes on… Anne Woiwode, State Director Sierra Club Mackinac ( 517-484-2372 fax 517-484-3108 Enjoy, Explore and Protect - www.michigan.sierraclub.org |