Déversements de purin de porcs

Photo: La Presse

Qui dit élevages de porcs sur gestion liquide dit épandage, déversements, ruissellements et pollution. Bien que Marcel Comiré de COVABAR profite de dire publiquement à chaque fois que je suis présente qu'une porcherie, "il y a rien là", le purin trouve toujours le chemin le plus court vers le cours d'eau le plus près, surtout quand on fait de l'agriculture sur de la glaise.

L'état de l'Iowa a entamé un procès lundi le 17 mai 2010 contre un producteur de porcs, Pieper Inc, pour avoir pollué l'eau plusieurs fois et violé des règlements d'élevages industriels. Le 19 mars 2009, une plainte avait été logée au département des ressources naturelles de l'Iowa: du purin avait été épandu sur un champs agricole avec un canon, et le purin ruissellait dans un fossé de drainage.

Le lendemain, des inspecteurs ont constaté qu'un liquide vert qui sentait le purin de porc s'écoulait d'un champs. Des prélèvements de spécimens du liquide ont été pris à différents endroits et ont révélés des concentrations élevées en ammoniac.

Il faut dire que Pieper Inc. avait reçu des avis d'infractions en 1978, 1991 et 2006. On demande des peines de $5,000 par jour par infraction. La production Pieper Inc. compte une opération de gestation, mise bas et d'engraissement de 7,100 porcs et une pouponnière de 1,300 porcs dans une installation de 20 bâtiments. Le purin est dans des fosses recouvertes et une citerne.

Il y a eu un déversement illégal de purin de porc à Richelieu le 26 avril 2010, mais je n'ai pas pu connaître la quantité car le rapport d'Urgence Environnement n'indique pas le montant: http://www.eauquebec.com/ministere/urgence_environnement/urgence.asp?dossier=7110-16-10-5505701
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"Lee County swine farm target of lawsuit

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller filed an environmental enforcement lawsuit Monday alleging that Pieper, Inc., a large swine confinement operation in Lee County, has had repeated water pollution and animal feeding operation violations. The suit alleges that on March 19, 2009, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources received a complaint that manure was being land-applied on a field at the Pieper operation with an irrigation gun, and manure was running off the field into a drainage ditch.

DNR officials investigated the next day and observed liquid that was “green in color and had an odor of hog manure” running off a Pieper field. The DNR took laboratory samples of the liquid at several points and found “extremely high concentrations of ammonia,” according to the lawsuit.

The suit also alleged Pieper land-applied manure without proper certification of the operators, misapplied manure using a spray irrigation system and failed to notify the DNR of the manure release. The suit also noted that Pieper Inc. had been the subject of environmental enforcement administrative orders issued by the DNR in 1978, 1991 and 2006 for a variety of confinement feeding operation violations.

The lawsuit asks the court to assess a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per day per violation, and to prohibit any future violations. The Pieper Inc. operation is comprised of a 7,100-head gestation, farrowing and finishing operation and a 1,300-head nursery operation, contained in 10 buildings. Manure storage is in below-building pits and a large slurry tank."

Excerpts from article published here: http://www.dailygate.com/articles/2010/05/20/news/doc4bf582fbdf8bd731955393.txt

In my hometown, the owners of a pig CAFO had to empty a whole thankful of pig slurry on the ground because they were stuck. An environmental emergency crew came on site and made a report, sort of. The report does not mention the amount of pig slurry had been let go, nor the proximity of any ditch or stream was mentioned. An outraged housewife blurted out the incident to my husband on the phone, otherwise nobody would have known. Two men, neighbors of the CAFO, has witnessed the spill and even filmed it, but they did not notify the local media, did not mention it at the town hall meeting (although they were there). A city councilor was advised, but did not talk about it at the town meeting either. This conspiracy of silence makes me so mad!