MN Farmer Convicted Of Illegal Dumping Wants 1,000-Hog Lagoon Permit

[hatrack]

SPRING GROVE, Minn. - A hog farmer who was convicted of a felony stemming from an intentional manure spill five years ago is seeking a permit for a manure pit underneath a new 1,000-hog facility he is building.

Scott Sanness didn't need a special permit to build the facility because it will hold 1,000 hogs, the maximum the county allows without a permit. Earlier this year, the Houston County Board denied requests by Sanness to build 3,300- and 1,600-hog facilities.

The county's planning commission has recommended that Sanness be granted a permit for the manure pit on his land two miles south of Spring Grove, provided that he mitigates odor by injecting the manure when it's spread on nearby fields, filters the air coming from the pit and puts enzymes in the hogs' feed. The County Board will consider the request Tuesday.

Sanness was convicted of violating the federal Clean Water Act after he sent 150,000 gallons of manure and runoff into nearby streams in 1998. He was fined $5,000.

EDIT

http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/local/14999902.htm

[cornermouse]

1. A whole $5,000?

Hmmm... Enough animals to produce 150,000 gallons of manure and runoff... I'm thinking $5,000 was the chump change jingling in his pocket.

[whistle]

2. So, what exactly can hog manure mixed with hog urine be used for

...I thought the ancient Chinese made gun powder from the hog waste. It really stinks to high heaven and I would think that corporate hog farmers should be forced to treat hog waste as sewage and treat it accordingly to make it non-toxic for run-off. The $5,000.00 fine was like pissing in the ocean. He should have been nailed for at least fifty times that much because I'm sure it made people very sick.

[Joanne98]

3. This guy needs to be hooked up with the bio-fuel people........

[acmavm]

4. Does anybody ever think of what a bad effect pig manure has on the

land, the air, and the water table?

Corporate hog lots are very very very bad for the environment, and to top it off these people who run these 'farms' are hardly friendly stewards of the land. Here in Nebraska and Iowa we've had all kinds of problems with these hog factories. They've lowered property values because of the intense stink. Oh my goodness, you've never smelled anything until you've gone by a corporate pig farm in the middle of summer. You can literally smell it for MILES. And like I said, they poison the water table and water is already becoming a precious commodity.

[Javaman]

5. I thought I read someplace that pig waste can be converted into

an energy source? yes?