A western Iowa dairy farm has agreed to pay thousands of dollars for allowing manure to flow out into a local stream. The Iowa Attorney General’s office says Plymouth Dairy Farms Incorporated south of Le Mars agreed to pay a $65,000 civil penalty for water pollution and manure-handling violations that occurred in the fall of 2004.
The state filed a lawsuit saying the dairy allowed manure from its cows to escape basins and flow into a tributary of Plymouth Creek. The suit says the D-N-R found manure flowing out at a rate of 100 gallons per minute in October of 2004. It says there were also excessive levels of manure stored in basins and the dairy failed to maintain its manure management plan and keep proper records of manure applications. As part of the settlement, Plymouth Dairy Farms has agreed to correct the problems.
The Attorney General says Plymouth Dairy Farms had no history of violations, and has been in compliance since the violations were pointed out.