Marks Dairy Farm

Albany, NY: (Aug-09-07) The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) brought environmental damage charges against Marks Dairy Farm, located in Lowville, after a massive manure spill at the Lewis County dairy farm in 2005 contaminated a 20-mile stretch of the Black River and killed 375,000 fish. Marks Dairy Farm is one of the largest dairy operations in the Northeast, with more than 5,000 cows and thousands of acres of crop fields. The suit stemmed from the Aug. 10, 2005 incident, when several million gallons of manure stored in a lagoon emptied into an adjacent field and moved through a drainage ditch into the Black River. The spill led to a huge drop in oxygen levels in the water, killing more than 375,000 fish over a 20-mile stretch of the river. DEC's investigation found that, fortunately, enough young fish and macro invertebrates survived the pollution, preserving the ecological basis for the river's food chain.

In a settlement reached, Marks Dairy Farm agreed to a $2.2 million payout to the DEC. The settlement package included many upgrades. An implementation of it has resulted in the farm putting in a fully lined storage structure and implementing improved waste management practices. The farm is still in the process of completing Environmental Benefits Projects associated with the settlement. These include a conservation easement and construction of two parking areas to provide fishing access to the Black River. [READ MEDIA: MANURE SPILL]

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Published on Aug-11-07