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Northwest Iowa Dairy Operation to Pay $26,288 Civil Penalty for Discharge of Animal Waste Without Proper Permit

Release Date: 03/22/2010
Contact Information: Chris Whitley, 913-551-7394, whitley.christopher@epa.gov


Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., March 22, 2010) – A dairy operation in Sioux County, Iowa, has agreed to pay a $26,288 civil penalty to the United States to settle allegations that it discharged animal waste pollutants from its facility into a tributary of the Orange City Slough without having a necessary permit.

Stoutjesdyk Dairy LLC, 3265 460^th Street, Maurice, Iowa, did not have a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit at the time of an April 2009 inspection by EPA Region 7, according to a consent agreement and final order filed today in Kansas City, Kan. In November 2009, EPA inspectors documented an illegal discharge at the dairy operation.

NPDES permits are required for operations that contain 700 or more dairy cattle, under requirements of the federal Clean Water Act. A permit is required even if the facility contains livestock in separate open and closed facilities within operation, as was the case with Stoutjesdyk Dairy. At the time of the inspection, the agreement says, Stoutjesdyk Dairy was confining approximately 1,260 dairy cows at the location, making it subject to regulation as a large concentrated animal feeding operation.

Wastes from the dairy operation flowed through multiple paths into a tributary of the nearby Orange City Slough. The tributary flows approximately ¼ mile to its confluence with Orange City Slough. Discharges by such means can impact water quality, pose risks to human health, threaten aquatic life and its habitat, and impair the use and enjoyment of waterways.

Through the consent agreement, Stoutjesdyk Dairy has certified that it will cease all illegal discharges and comply with the Clean Water Act.

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