Hog lot operator pleads guilty in first-in-the-nation case

The first federal case in the nation using the Clean Water Act against theowner of a hog lot was settled today in Cedar Rapids. U-S Attorney SteveRapp says a Minnesota company that operated the hog lot in Howard County haspled guilty to negligent discharge of hog manure. Rapp says the spill killedfish along a stretch of Crane Creek in July of 1997.Rapp says the Iowa Attorney General’s office help prosecute the case — andthe Clean Water Act made it easier.He says the investigation was helped by Eric Souhrada of Madrid who tapedthe damage. Rapp says this case should send a message to large hog operations that theymust use reasonable care in handling manure.The company, Trace Incorporated, was sentenced to pay 30-thousand dollars inrestitution and a 10-thousand dollar fine.