Jim Crawford of the EPA’s Dayton office said the substance’s trail led investigators to the Ditmer Family Farm on Red River West Grove Road in Darke County.
The farm has a manure lagoon that is pumped and the manure sprayed on fields, Crawford said. A line break around July 24 allowed manure to get into a field tile and flow west underground to Canyon Run Creek and, eventually, the river, he said.
The substance resulted in a fish kill of just more than 3,000 minnows and other fish, said Ken Fitz, law enforcement program administrator for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Fitz said the manure affected about 4.5 miles of water way. A bill for the fish kill of $1,487 will be sent to the farm, he said.
Crawford said at this point the incident is being considered an accidental spill.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2292 or nbowman@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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