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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Iowa hog-feeding operation penalized

Miller

FORT MADISON, Iowa (Legal Newsline) - Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller announced on Monday that a Lee County judge has penalized a Wever hog-feeding operation for alleged water pollution and animal feeding operation violations.

District Judge Cynthia H. Danielson ordered Pieper Inc. to pay an $18,000 penalty. Danielson also ordered the company to comply with state manure management and water control laws.

Miller filed an environmental enforcement lawsuit in May 2010 alleging that Pieper Inc., a large swine confinement operation in Lee County, had repeated animal feeding and water pollution operation violations.

Pieper admitted that two employees without proper certification had land-applied manure on a field at the Pieper operation with an irrigation gun in March 2009. This caused manure to run off the field into a drainage ditch. In addition, Pieper admitted that it failed to submit a required complete manure management plan for the facility despite numerous reminders from the Department of Natural Resources.

Pieper Inc. was the subject of environmental enforcement administrative orders issued by the DNR in 1978, 1991 and 2006 for multiple confinement feeding operation violations.

The Pieper Inc. operation consists of a 7,100 head gestation, finishing and farrowing operation as well as a 1,300 head nursery operation contained in 10 buildings. Manure storage is located in below-building pits and a large slurry tank.

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