Consent agreement reached in manure spill restitution

The Iowa DNR and a Winneshiek County farmer have reached a consent agreement involving an August of 2017 manure spill which killed fish in a stream southwest of Decorah

Property owner Darryl Humpal has agreed to pay fish restitution in the amount of $13,444.74; pay an administrative penalty in the amount of $2,000; and develop standard operating procedures for manure application.

The manure spill happened Monday, August 21st of 2017 on Dry Run Creek.  DNR staffers went to Dry Run Creek and followed a trail of contaminated water back to a dairy farm near Ridgeway owned by Humpal.  Humpal told DNR staffers he had applied manure on a hay field near the creek on Monday. Rainfall Monday night apparently flushed the dairy manure into the creek, affecting about five miles of stream.  DNR environmental staff found no dead game fish but did find large numbers of dead minnows and suckers.  Humpal disked the hay field after the spill and pumped more than 10,000 gallons of diluted water from the creek to prevent further contamination downstream.

A consent order is issued as an alternative to issuing an administrative order and indicates the DNR and the other party have voluntarily entered into a legally enforceable agreement.