The owner of a hog confinement nursery operation near Lohrville has been sanctioned by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for a manure runoff incident last summer. The Feb. 1 consent order states owner and operator of the 3,600-head nursery unit, Ryan Kent, had pumped manure from the under-building pit and into a neighbor’s field. The neighbor filed three complaints with the DNR on July 18, stating that manure was running into his corn field and had killed about two acres of his crop. On July 25, the DNR visited the facility and the field agent was told by Kent that there had been a water leak and he had pumped some of the water off the top of the pit. He added that he did not have an available pasture or alfalfa field to apply to, so he pumped into the neighbor’s field, but did not believe it would kill the corn. For this violation, Kent will pay a fine of $3,000 and is ordered to maintain all animal feeding operation structures in compliance with applicable DNR rules and regulations.
