Oops! Dairy Farm Spills 3M Gallons Manure Into Upstate NY's Black River

[hatrack]

LOWVILLE, N.Y. -- Three million gallons of liquid manure spilled from a northern New York dairy farm into a nearby river, killing what state officials estimate are hundreds of thousands of fish. With the strongly scented tide moving its way down the Black River toward Lake Ontario Thursday, the city of Watertown shut off its water intake, and people in Lewis and Jefferson counties have been warned not to drink water from the river.

EDIT

The spill came from one of the largest farms in Lewis County, Marks Farms, about five miles south of the village of Lowville. The farm is one of the county's 20 largest employers. Martin said the spill happened when an earthen wall of a lagoon holding about three million gallons of liquid manure blew out, sending the manure into a drainage ditch and then into the Black River. Martin said the spill happened either late Wednesday night or early Thursday.

State Department of Environmental Conservation spokesman Stephen Litwhiler told the Watertown Daily Times it's too early to tell whether the farmers will face charges. An employee answering the phone at Marks Farms said the owner was not taking calls at home Thursday night. The farm is owned by David and Jacquelyn Peck and William Marks, according to federal farm records.

Already the DEC estimates hundreds of thousands of fish, including perch, bass, catfish, shiners and walleye, will die before the manure surge is flushed away, Martin said. "It definitely will affect tourism," he said. "The Black River is known for its fishing areas." Martin said such a large spill has never happened in the largely agricultural county where officials say cows outnumber people.

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http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--manurespill0811aug11,0,6200907.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. shortly to be renamed a slightly lighter color

affect tourism?

[hatrack]

2. "Affect tourism"

Soldiers "injured" in roadside bombings.

Helicopters "forced down" in Iraq.

Workforces "rationalized" by layoffs.

:puke:

[Ian David]

3. Their fine will be less than if they'd shown a nipple during the Superbowl

[sybylla]

4. That's what I'd expect, unless Eliot Spitzer wants to make an example

out of them. I'd like to know how it is they don't have a back up collection system for 3 million gallons of manure when they are that "stinking" close to the river in the first place. Doesn't New York State have stricter requirements than one simple earthen wall?