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Department of Ecology News Release - October 12, 2001
01-179
OLYMPIA - The owner of a Ridgefield dairy has been fined $6,000 by the state Department of Ecology (Ecology) for spilling liquid cow manure into Gee Creek last summer.
Ecology's investigation found that, on July 9 and 10, approximately 125,000 gallons of manure flowed into the creek from Arwana Farms after the dairy's owner, William Kennedy, failed to shut off a manure spreader and allowed it to run overnight.
As a result, a downstream Ridgefield city park was posted with health warning signs and liquid manure flowed as far as the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. Sculpins, crayfish, lamprey and several species of fish suffocated due to a lack of dissolved oxygen in the water caused by the manure.
"We appreciate that the owner notified Ecology as soon as he realized what had happened, and he acted quickly to prevent this from happening again by installing a shut-off timer on the pump," said Mark Bentley, a manager in Ecology's water-quality program. "Without his quick actions, the environmental damage would have been even worse, and the penalty would be much higher, too."
The owner has 15 days to apply for an application for relief from the penalty or 30 days to file an appeal against the penalty with the state Pollution Control Hearings Board.
Contact: Sandy Howard, public information manager, 360-407-6239
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
