Smell Drives Residents From Homes Near Dairy

By Ryan Schuster, Grand Forks Herald, N.D.

Jun. 11–Jeff Brouse and his family have been sleeping on the floor of his parents’ living room since leaving their home Thursday.

Brouse, his wife and two children ages 3 and 5, are among several area residents who say they have been driven from their homes by fear of health effects caused by hazardous fumes omitted by nearby Excel Dairy north of Thief River Falls. The Minnesota Department of Health has recommended that some living near the dairy leave if they can.

Some residents have joined in a planned class-action lawsuit against the dairy. Marshall County also has filed a public nuisance charge against the dairy, and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is considering action. The dairy’s operators say they are working to lessen the smell.

“You can’t even describe it,” Brouse said of the smell. “It takes your breath away it’s so noxious. It’s not a manure smell. It’s not a farm smell. It’s a hydrogen sulfide-ammonia gas smell.”

Neighbors say they have taken hand-held air measurements in the last week that show levels of hydrogen sulfide more than 200 times higher than what state air quality standards allow. About 40 residents live within a mile of the 1,500-cow dairy near U.S. Highway 59.

Mona Loe and her husband, Paul, whose house is about 300 yards from the dairy’s lagoon, left their home Sunday night after getting a call from the Minnesota Department of Health recommending they evacuate.

The couple is staying in a motel in Thief River Falls. They have no idea when they will be able to return home.

“It’s been absolutely miserable,” Mona Loe said. “I feel like I have no control over my life. It’s unfair that we are the ones who have to leave. It needs to be shut down.”

Loe said her husband has suffered from headaches, blurred vision, shortness of breath and fatigue. She said she also has suffered from nausea and headaches.

“People are going to feel ill if they are exposed to levels that high,” said Rita Messing, a toxicologist with the health department, who said she doesn’t know if the fumes have caused permanent damage. “The readings are certainly a lot higher than other situations I have seen.”

The MPCA has recorded hydrogen sulfide readings at the dairy with its own equipment that appear to exceed state standards, but the agency has not yet determined if the readings constitute a violation.

Spokesperson Amy Rudolph said the MPCA is exploring all legal options regarding the dairy, which she said could be fined or required to change how it handles manure.

Marshall County has filed a misdemeanor public nuisance charge against the dairy and its parent company, Dairy Dozen LLP. The dairy group’s attorney offered a not guilty plea Tuesday in district court in Warren, Minn. A pretrial hearing has been set for July 5.

The nuisance charge carries a maximum of $1,000 fine or 90 days in jail for each violation, Marshall County attorney Mike Williams said.

“We don’t prepare charges every time there is a smell in a lagoon,” Williams said. “It has to be pretty bad. We believe it is pretty bad.”

Rick Millner, CEO of Prairie Ridge Management, did not return a telephone call Tuesday. But during an interview last week, Millner said Prairie Ridge Management was trying to minimize the smell and expected the situation to be under control soon.

Prairie Ridge Management manages Excel Dairy and four other dairies in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Over the limit

State air quality rules allow no more than 30 parts per billion in a half-hour average, no more than twice in a five-day period, past the dairy’s property line. And there can not be more than two readings of 50 parts per billion or more are allowed per season, with the third reading constituting a violation.

The MPCA placed two continuous air monitors on the dairy’s perimeter in May, which record hydrogen sulfide levels every 15 minutes.

Rick Strassman, supervisor of the air monitoring unit of the MPCA, said the monitors recorded levels above the 30 and 50 parts per billion limits and said MPCA enforcement staff will count the number of times the limit has been exceeded.

But Strassman said it is unclear if a violation has technically occurred since the state allows a 21-day exemption each year when dairies are agitating or pumping stored manure, which Excel has been doing.

Millner of Prairie Ridge Management said the group has tried to improve the smell by using aeration and bacterial inoculants to break down the manure. Manure in pits at feedlots often emits gases such as hydrogen sulfide, methane, carbon dioxide and ammonia.

Millner said the dairy is nearly finished repairing a damaged pond, which was required by the MPCA.

He said last week he expected the smell to be pretty much taken care of within a week.

“I think we have it figured out,” Millner said. “I think we have it handled. The next week will tell that for sure.”

But local residents say they have heard similar claims in the past.

“That place needs to be shut down once and for all,” Brouse said. “This is affecting the health of lots of families.”

The dairy is permitted for 1,544 cows, but Millner said the group plans to expand to 1,850 cows, which would require state approval.

MPCA officials say the odor problems may have intensified because of the dairy agitating its pond during repairs. The use of sand bedding instead of straw bedding, which helps in the formation of a crust over the lagoon, also has contributed to the strong smell, officials said.

Local residents say they are not anti-dairy, and the problem goes beyond just a bad smell.

They say they often are prisoners in their own homes, not daring to let their children play outside or invite friends and family over for cookouts or get-togethers.

Residents also say they can’t move. Real estate agents have told them they would take significant losses selling their homes and land as a result of being located near the dairy.

“Who’s going to buy my house?” Brouse asked. “Do you want to buy it? As far as I’m concerned, my house is priceless. We have a very nice place. But if we had to sell it and move somewhere, no one would buy it, at least not for what it’s worth.”

Schuster covers business. Reach him at (701) 780-1107, by e-mail at rschuster@gfherald.com or view his business blog at www.areavoices.com/bizbuzz.

—–

To see more of the Grand Forks Herald, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.grandforks.com.

Copyright (c) 2008, Grand Forks Herald, N.D.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.