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OLIVIA, Minn. (AP) -- A chunk of Mike Tisdell' s sugar beet field
is missing and some beets are dying after a manure spill in Renville
County about eight miles south of this town.
The ValAdCo hog cooperative was pumping manure from lagoons to
nearby farm fields Aug. 2 when a hose broke and spewed thousands of
gallons of liquid manure into a road ditch and Tisdell' s field.
According to Scott Refsland, environmental service manager for
ValAdCo, the hose broke behind a coupling.
When workers for Winfield Ag -- the private contractor spreading
the manure on the fields -- noticed the spill, it took about 20
minutes to shut pumps down, he said. The Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency was notified, and cleanup began that morning.
Refsland estimated the spill at 10, 000 gallons.
Tisdell, who was on vacation and returned last weekend, said he
thinks the spill was probably much larger -- 100, 000 gallons or
more. He doesn' t think 10, 000 gallons would have caused the
problems he sees in his field.
" The beets are dying back a lot more in that field, "
he said.
Tisdell was upset about the spill and about his beet field being
dug up without his permission.
" The beets are gone, " he said. " They came and
just did it because they wanted to get rid of the evidence, "
he said. "
They cannot come roaring in here with all their equipment. Who
gave them permission to even step out there?"
Tisdell and his family are involved in a lawsuit against ValAdCo,
alleging that its marketing contract is illegal.
Refsland said there would be some damage compensation to Tisdell,
though the details of that will be worked out by Winfield Ag and the
Tisdells.
The MPCA ordered that the dirt be excavated, said Greg Ruff, an
MPCA compliance coordinator. An investigation into the spill and
cleanup actions will continue.
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