Cayuga County farm to pay $111K penalty for March violations

The state Department of Environmental Conservation in March cited Ashland Farm, a dairy based on Route 34B in the town of Venice, in connection with a reported manure storage pit overflow on March 7. DEC said an "unknown amount" of the overflowed waste entered a stormwater pipe that discharged to an unnamed tributary of Great Gully Brook, which itself is a tributary of Cayuga Lake. Investigators observed that the waste material reached the mouth of Great Gully Brook. No fish kills were observed.

A consent order finalized on July 20 and signed by farm owner Stephen Talcott requires the business to pay $111,250 in penalities in four installments by April 1. The first installment of $28,250 was due immediately upon signing and paid, DEC said.

The farm has also agreed to a series of remedial steps to bring its manure storage facilities into compliance with state regulations. The farm is currently in compliance with the terms of the consent order, DEC said.

"DEC will continue to rigorously monitor compliance with these activities," the agency said in a statement.

The farm did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the consent order.

The order is the fourth issued against the farm in the past decade. According to language in the new agreement, Ashland has settled past violations in 2011, 2013 and 2020 that included manure runoff and storage overflow incidents. The previous orders, however, carried significantly smaller financial penalties: $1,500 in 2011, $3,000 in 2013 and $1,500 in 2020.

Immediately after the overflow incident in March, Ashland worked with neighboring farms to transfer some of the waste into their lagoons and onto crop fields where some of the material could be safely spread.

The farm's violations included failure to monitor its manure storage structures, which included a lack of record-keeping and storage level markers that are required under Ashland's concentrated animal feeding operation permit, which allows for up to 1,167 young stock and 1,800 mature dairy cattle. DEC cited the farm for failing to follow its emergency plan and for altering or establishing three waste storage structures without proper notifications and review.

In the violation notice, the agency told the farm that it could face civil penalties of up to $37,500 per day for certain violations.

If Ashland Farm fails to comply with the terms of the consent order, it faces additional penalties ranging from $500 to $1,500 per day.