One of northwest Ohio’s largest manure-management investigations has been under way in Williams County for weeks, and it involves both the Ohio Department of Agriculture and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
Directors from both agencies have told The Blade the case appears to either be headed toward resolution soon or else for an enforcement action that could result in hefty fines or legally binding orders. The goal is to protect vulnerable waterways, including Fish Creek, the St. Joseph River, and the Maumee River.
The facilities are mostly in the Edon and Montpelier areas and involve thousands of young beef cattle.
Sixteen facilities have been investigated, 10 of which have been found to be improperly managing manure or having other issues related to livestock operations, ODA Director Brian Baldridge said.
Many were operating at or near the threshold of 1,000 cattle for unpermitted livestock facilities.
Two were found to be far in excess of that — with as many as 1,800 cattle on a single site — and should have applied for permits to operate as concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, he said.