Officials say Rockford dairy behind creek pollution

CELINA - A Rockford dairy has been referred to state agriculture and environmental agencies for allegedly discharging leachate that contaminated over 5 miles of and killed fish in the Little Black Creek.

Members of the Mercer Soil and Water Conservation District board of supervisors on Thursday morning heard about a valid pollution complaint stemming from Heartland Dairy Holdings LLC in the St. Marys Watershed.

Board members also welcomed new member Mike Dues and elected Kevin Otte as chairperson and Scott Tobin as vice chairperson.

District technician Matt Heckler said he received a call from Brad Buening, Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) wildlife officer for Mercer County, at 8:25 a.m. Dec. 12, 2022.

Buening said he found discolored water and dead fish in Little Black Creek where it crosses Erastus Durbin Road. Heckler said he was unsure how many fish were killed or the size of the fish.

Heckler contacted Dave Schilt with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Division of Environmental Response and Revitalization (OEPA-DERR) and Frances Springer with Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) Division of Soil and Water, about the complaint.

After ruling out potential sources near Now Road, Heckler, Buening and SWCD watershed technician Kyle Fullenkamp traveled to where Little Black Creek crosses Township Line Road north of Tama Road.

A water sample taken from the creek tested above 10 parts per million (ppm) of ammonia, Heckler said, and water in the creek was murky.

A reading of 13 ppm is considered to have chronic toxicity to aquatic life and 1 ppm is considered normal, according to SWCD officials.

Heckler, Fullenkamp and several ODNR wildlife officers walked along Little Black Creek east of Township Line Road and found a 10- to 12-inch tile discharging discolored water into the creek. Water coming from the tile was foaming and discolored and tested above 10 ppm, he said.

Heckler contacted Andy Ety with ODA Division of Livestock Environmental Permitting (DLEP), telling him he believed the discharge was coming from Heartland Dairy Holdings LLC.

Heckler, Fullenkamp and Springer reportedly traveled to the facility, located at 3101 Tama Rd., Rockford, and found a pump was placed in the silage leachate collection system with a hose. The hose ran over the wall of the collection system, and leachate was pumped into the clean water swale on the north side of the facility, he said.

Silage leachate is a byproduct of corn that is high in nutrients and can be land applied, according to Heckler. Its high nutrient load also makes it one of the worst potential pollutants.

The clean water swale allowed the leachate to flow to the outlet tile because it is connected to Little Black Creek, Heckler said after the meeting.

Heckler left a message for Matt Adams, who applies manure for Heartland Dairy, and asked him to close the inline water control structure and pump water out of Little Black Creek.

The group then traveled back where Little Black Creek crosses Township Line Road near the woods. A water sample taken with a high-end ammonia kit tested at 120-150 ppm of ammonia.

Adams met the group at the bridge just north of Tama Road at 12:35 p.m. Dec. 12 and told them he had plugged the tile in the catch basin and closed the inline water control structure.

In total, the leachate contaminated 5.1 miles of the creek, Heckler said.

On Dec. 13, Heckler and SWCD technician James Couch stopped back at the site and found the flow from the outfall of the tile had been significantly reduced.

The water in Little Black Creek at the outfall also had significantly less foam on the surface and was clearer. A water sample from the outfall pipe tested at 7-8 ppm of ammonia.

Springer on Dec. 13 sent Heckler a text showing an aerial picture of the Heartland Dairy operation from the Mercer County Auditor's GIS map website taken in March 2021.

The aerial map indicates that there was a pump and hose present in the silage leachate collection system in March 2021. However, Heckler said SWCD officials can't verify if the leachate contamination has been continuous since 2021.

On Monday, Schilt contacted Heckler to let him know he was at the site and that Heartland Dairy had pumped water from Little Black Creek from Dec. 12 until Dec. 30 when the water flow came up in the creek. Schilt said a representative from ODA-DLEP would check in on the situation later this week.

Heckler noted SWCD has been out to the area three times in the last two years for pollution complaints, and no source was identified on two of the complaints. There have been previous fish kills in the area, he said.

The complaint has been turned over to ODA-DLEP and OEPA-DERR for enforcement.

Heartland Dairy Holdings LLC recently sought to renew their permit to operate for another five years. In December, ODA-DLEP program administrator Nancy Cunningham said the facility has had no infractions since its permit was first granted.

In other business, board members approved the job description for the district's H2Ohio coordinator/technician.

Former H2Ohio coordinator/technician Michael Bolton resigned at the December board meeting after serving the district for a little over a year.

The next board of supervisors meeting is at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 9 in the first floor conference room of the central services building in Celina.