Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Manure Lagoon Brings Misery
Published October 19, 2005 (Note- the editor changed Gregg’s words. Gregg said that the Farm Bureau says we have “the most stringent environmental laws”. Note the way the editor changed his words.)
The Post Standard
Readers Page
To the Editor:
Your recent article about manure lagoons and the lack of regulatory enforcement was dead on. Anyone living near one of these industrial-size dairy farms can testify to the misery they cause. Garbage flies and swarms of mosquitos, stench beyond description, health problems from hydrogen sulfide fumes, water pollution and destruction of property value are just a small example of what happens when these farms expand.
NY has the most stringent environmental laws is the nation. But these laws are rarely, if ever enforced. The farm is simply issued a warning, then awarded thousands of taxpayer dollars to be used for cleanup with no oversight.
I live near an expanding industrial dairy farm located in the center of the town of Eden, NY. This farm has had DEC pollution violations documented since 1992 with the most recent violation issued in August of 2005. The DEC has never initiated enforcement action or fines despite years of water pollution to the 18 Mile Creek watershed.
The time for a major change to this failed model of agriculture and waste storage is long overdue.
Sincerely,
Gregg Kaczmarczyk