As the new home of WISPIRG's environmental work, Wisconsin Environment can be contacted with any questions regarding this report.
Every
year factory farms dump 220 billion gallons of animal waste onto
farmland and into our waterways, posing a major threat to public
health, according to a report released today by WISPIRG, Family Farm
Defenders and Midwest Environmental Advocates and written by NRDC
(Natural Resources Defense Council) and the Clean Water Network. The
report, the most comprehensive one to date on waste lagoons, calls on
the Bush administration to phase out waste lagoons at large-scale hog,
dairy and egg farms, and ban the construction of new ones.
"The
Bush administration and the Wisconsin Legislature should force factory
farms to close their waste lagoons and install up-to-date pollution
controls," said Kerry Schumann, WISPIRG Director. "Closing these
polluting pools would show that our elected officials support public
health and the environment, rather than bowing to agribusiness."
Citing
scientific studies, pollution records and anecdotal reports from
victims of factory farm pollution, the report, "Cesspools of Shame,"
documents the dangers posed by factory farm lagoons, which store
massive quantities of animal waste in open-air pits, and the common
practice of over-applying waste on "sprayfields." Lagoon and sprayfield
wastewater contains viruses, bacteria, antibiotics, metals,
oxygen-depleting substances and other toxins that run off the land,
contaminate the groundwater, and pollute the atmosphere. The report
also summarizes the wide range of alternatives to the lagoon and
sprayfield system, including wastewater treatment technology and
sustainable agricultural practices that prevent pollution.
According
to Ruth Simpson of Family Farm Defenders, "Giant livestock operations
are a looming threat to the health and well being of rural America.
These factory farms are polluting our air and water with their
irresponsible waste techniques. With our air and water at stake, why is
the state of Wisconsin funding farm expansions when every day we lose 4
to 5 dairy farms? Why aren't we doing more to save small
environmentally responsible farms?"
The
groups highlighted a dairy in Wisconsin that has had problems with a
manure lagoon and liquid manure spreading - Spring Grove Dairy. Prior
to moving from California to Wisconsin, the 1,500 cow Spring Grove
Dairy in Brodhead, Wisconsin, promised to run a "state-of-the-art"
manure storage pit. They claimed that the manure pits were "more
environmentally friendly" than traditional livestock operations and
that the pits could hold 13 months worth of manure. They also claimed
that the manure would be spread on fields once a year, in the fall.
But,
according to Melissa Scanlan, Executive Director of Midwest
Environmental Advocates, "Instead of an environmentally-friendly
operation, we have gotten broken promises. Last August 28, 2000,
citizens found that the manure pits were at capacity, and that the
facility needed to build up the sides of the pit with sand," said
Scanlan. "Rather than knifing the manure into the ground once a year in
fall, citizens documented manure spreading on frozen ground this past
February. To date, this facility has not been fined for its
violations," Scanlan added.
Despite
the devastating impact of this outdated approach to manure storage and
disposal, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources have been unwilling to consider banning
lagoon and sprayfield systems at large-scale animal feedlots. Under
EPA's proposed technology regulations, the agency would continue to
allow thousands of hog, dairy, and egg factory farms to store liquid
manure in lagoons the size of several football fields. The agency's
proposal also would allow new operations to use lagoon and sprayfield
systems.
Lagoons
are typically used on large industrial farms. Wisconsin has seen rapid
growth in the number of industrial size farms in the past few years,
with an 18% increase in 1999 and a 40% increase in 2000. As more of
these facilities begin to operate using this polluting manure
management practice, Wisconsin is likely to see increased health and
environmental problems in rural areas. Lagoons have broken, failed or
overflowed at livestock operations, leading to fish kills and
contaminated drinking water supplies.
