Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
NORTH MANCHESTER - Kenny and Julie Shepherd's dream house and property is in Marshall County and borders Kosciusko County.
The master bedroom overlooks a pond, which, on Tuesday morning, was colored red with effluent from a nearby confined animal feeding operation.
This is the third time in 18 months a lagoon cleanout has polluted the pond.
The 1.18-acre pond is fed by the quick-moving Alspaugh Creek. The creek re-emerges at the south end of the pond and dumps into the Eel River, which is less than half a mile away.
The town of North Manchester is just a few miles to the southwest.
For the third time in 18 months, Shepherd has called Indiana Department of Natural Resources officers and inspectors from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
IDNR conservation officer Jerry Hart said he ordered manure pumping to cease on property owned by New Real Veal at 10 a.m. Tuesday morning. The veal calf confined animal feeding operation is northwest of Shepherd's property, east of CR 400E between CRs 1200S and 1300S. Real Veal is based out of Wisconsin. The local property is managed by Alto Dairy Cooperative.
According to Hart, Real Veal employees had pumped the lagoons for 7-1/2 hours Monday and for 1-1/2 hours Tuesday until ordered to stop that operation. Workers at Real Veal have an estimated 150 more hours worth of pumping to empty the holding lagoons.
The waste is applied with a spray gun that slowly traverses the fields.
A veal-producing operation can have up to 1,000 head of calves at any given time.
Application of manure on fields is only allowed under certain conditions.
"There weren't any dead fish yesterday," Shepherd said this morning. "They were all killed off in the spring - bass, bluegill, catfish and carp."
The Shepherds purchased the house in July 2005. The former owner, Shepherd said, advised the couple not to stock the pond. Now they know why.
"The neighbors say this has happened for years," Shepherd said.
Wednesday afternoon, aeration devices were set up in the pond and ammonia levels are dropping, according to Amy Harstock, an IDEM media relations representative.
"We're investigating how the incident occurred," Harstock said this morning. "It appears that manure found its way to a stream and ultimately to the pond through a field tile or field tile(s). It was accidental.
"The producer agreed not to land apply again in that particular field."
IDEM inspectors are trying to determine what led to the release of the manure.
The case is under review.
"Our first priority is addressing the impact, in this case the impact to the pond and providing assistance to the producer," Harstock said.
"Next we'll figure out what happened and how to prevent it in the future."
Real Veal will resume land applications in a different area in the next day or two.
Harstock said she was aware the Shepherd pond had been polluted before, but she didn't think IDEM officials were able to pinpoint the source in the prior events.
