1 • Wednesday, March 29, 2017 - The Independent-Register
Brodhead
Independent Register 608•897•2193
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922 W. EXCHANGE STREET, BRODHEAD, WI 53520
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2017
Parkview requesting referendum continuation ..................................... 3 Winner crowned in Optimist essay contest .................................... 4 Future bright for Juda-Albany softball ..................................................7
Fowler Dental Clinic receives donation from 100 Who Care Green County
The Fowler Dental Clinic is very excited and honored to have received an unexpected $1,900 donation from 100 Who Care Green County. Fowler Dental Clinic is a non-profit clinic that provides free dental care to undeserved children in Green County. These funds will go a long way in helping to meet the general programs expenses of the clinic. Donations such as these are especially helpful to the clinic, as they are not earmarked for certain purposes as funds received from grants often are. 100 Who Care Green County is an organization that meets for one hour four times per year. At each meeting, the group votes and chooses one 501(c)3 status non-profit orga-
nization to support for the quarter. Each member of the group then donates $100 to the organization that received the most votes. The organization’s goal is to be able to collectively donate $10,000 every quarter. Deb Douglas, Executive Director of the Fowler Dental Clinic, wishes to thank all of the members of 100 Who Care Green County for their support and generosity. If you wish to learn more about either Fowler Dental Clinic or 100 Who Care Green County, both can be found on Facebook: @FowlerClinic and @100WhoCareGreenCounty. To find out how you can help to support the Fowler Dental Clinic’s mission of helping children in need, please visit FowlerClinic.org.
COURTESY PHOTO Brodhead Independent-Register
(Right) Representatives of Fowler Dental Clinic accept a $1,900 donation from 100 Who Care Green County.
More than 300,000 gallons of manure spill near Albany
By Tony Ends
CORRESPONDENT
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources staff confirmed public reports of a liquid manure spill into backwaters of Allen Creek on Friday late afternoon, March 17. Between 300,000 and 400,000 gallons of manure overflowed a cement transfer point when a line feeding into a large lagoon plugged up. “An employee (of Larson Acres Inc.) spotted the spill, and the dairy went into its emergency response,” said DNR Waste Water Engineer Mark Cain by phone last Thursday. “They did exactly what we want farms to do in this instance. They
stopped the spill, cleaned up what they could, and reported it to us,” said Cain, responding to an inquiry from the Independent Register about citizen reports of the spill. Larson Acres is licensed to milk 2,800 dairy cows in a concentrated animal feeding operation at the junction of Highways 59 and 104. About six miles south, they also have a 1,200-cow heifer facility on County Highway B off of Highway 104. Both CAFOs are in the Town of Magnolia in western Rock County, just across the Green County line. The large dairy where the spill occurred is about eight miles north of
Brodhead. By the time DNR staff responded to the spill, Cain said, the dairy’s employees had captured most of the manure. They diked up around the liquid manure and pumped it into the lagoon. “There was a slight fish kill in the backwater, but no game fish,” Cain said. “Some of the manure did enter Allen Creek. We are taking water samples around that area, but I don’t think there is any reason for concern for health downstream. “Larson Acres has had no spills in recent years; they’ve really done a good job,” Cain said. Larson Acres did report a 30,000-to-40,000-gallon
manure spill when a clamp failed on a hose connector at its dairy facility on Highway 59, on Oct. 20, 2002. The DNR did not take punitive action against the CAFO on that spill. Cain could not say last week whether any enforcement action would ensue from the larger spill. “We’re studying the situation,” he said. “We continue to monitor the creek.” Allen Creek flows west from Larson Acres above Bump Road toward the Sugar River, where it enters that river above Albany. Larson Acres expanded its dairy in October 2010, doubling its herd size to 5,000 animal units.
All agricultural or livestock operations, regardless of size, must report manure spills or runoff that may affect Wisconsin’s waters to the DNR. The state website lists a 24-hour spill emergency hotline of 1-800-943-0003. A responsible party may also have to comply with other state and/ or federal reporting requirements relating to the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA) or the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). To report a spill, contact 1-800424-8802, the federal National Response Center.
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