Environmental Progress - Spring 1996

Citizen Complaints Are Farmed Out to Illinois EPA Agriculture Specialists

Livestock waste odors and water pollution fears comprise the bulk of annual investigations.

The Illinois EPA has operated a livestock waste management program since 1979 that provides for inspection of livestock production facilities throughout the state. Each year from 1985 to 1994, Agency personnel conducted an average of 222 inspections and found 67 percent of livestock facilities required corrective actions, either to address regulatory violations or to prevent air or water pollution.

During 1994, the most recent year for which statistics are available, the Agency's agriculture specialists visited 228 livestock facilities. Ten inspections were requested by facility operators; 106 probes were prompted by citizen complaints; the remainder were random inspections of facilities suspected of not complying with the state's livestock waste regulations. Of the total, 129 inspections were recorded as first-time visits.

Odor and water pollution complaints investigated during 1994 involved six types of livestock production facilities, as shown in the accompanying table.

Overall, the investigations determined that 35.3 percent of water pollution and 28.4 percent of odor complaints were invalid.

The most frequently observed problems involved:

• polluted feedlot runoff, caused by rain mixing with manure and flowing to a stream;
• pits, lagoons, or holding ponds overflowed and discharged to a stream because these facilities were inadequate or because manure-removal equipment was unavailable;
• manure washed off cropland and into a stream because it had been applied on too steep a slope or too close to a stream;
• facilities were located too close to neighbors who complained about persistent odors; and
• liquid manure generating intense odors was spread too close to neighboring homes.

Agricultural engineers currently work out of five of the Agency's seven regional offices: Eric Ackerman is assigned to Peoria, Jeff Holste to Champaign, Dale Brockamp to Springfield, and Ed Lilla to Rockford and Maywood.

Additional program support is provided by the Agency's agriculture advisor and the Division of Water Pollution Control's permit section.