The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has ordered penalties and restitution for two fish kills related to manure spills.
The DNR ordered John Hoefler to pay $22,417 in restitution for fish killed and investigation costs along with a $2,000 penalty for manure runoff that happened in October from his dairy feedlot in Dubuque County near New Viena.
A DNR investigator traced the manure release back to Hoefler’s operation after dead fish were noticed in Hewitt Creek near Dyersville. The DNR estimated some 62,000 fish were killed. Hoefler was also ordered to implement a plan to prevent future runoff.
The Raymond Forsyth Farms near Maynard in Fayette County were assessed $4,900 in restitution and a $2,000 penalty. It was determined that manure from a building that was demolished in August of 2017 got into an unnamed tributary of the Little Volga River and killed an estimated 8,700 fish.