The Rural Voice, 1982-01, Page 12Earthen manure pit studied
by Susan White
Neil and Donna Hemingway are consid-
ered progressive farmers, interested in
economical, energy efficient ways of doing
things. That's why they chose to build a
naturally ventilated barn, one of four inthe
province, when they expanded their hog
operation in Grey Township outside
Brussels in Huron County last summer.
And that's why they decided to build an
earthen manure pit to store liquid wastes
from their animals. (They also bought a
separator to remove manure solids, which
they plan to compost and use to produce
methane gas.)
"I never had a big thing about earthen
tanks. Concrete looked a good way to go,"
Neil says. But then they heard about the
economic and environmental advantages
of earthen storage over the more costly
concrete tanks and the Hemingways were
sold.
That's when the trouble began. "I was
28 in the spring but I feel 41 now," Neil
says with a rueful smile.
Although earthen manure storage has
been used around the province for years
and many operators just get a bulldozer in,
build the pit and quietly put it into use, the
Hemingways were more straight forward
about their intentions.
First they got a Certificate of Compl-
iance from the ministries of agriculture
and the environment. They they applied
for and received a building permit from
Grey.
But, as Huron's agriculture engineer.
Ron Fleming, explains it, while a
Certificate of Compliance ensures that
odour won't be a py6blem in the manure
storage tank, it's really not set up to
consider possible contamination of
groundwater by stored manure.
And it was a fear of groundwater
contamination that led a number of Grey
Township residents to circulate, a petition
opposing the construction and operation
of earthen liquid manure pits in the
township.
But the Hemingways had researched
the matter and a $4000 engineering study
Donna and Neil Hemingway outside their naturally ventilated
hog barn.
they commissioned by Peto MacCallum
Ltd. of Kitchener said the subsurface and
groundwater conditions at the pit site
wouldn't allow contamination. Experience
in Ontario is that earthen manure pits seal
themselves within a matter of a few
weeks of construction but, just in case, the
engineers suggested lining the pit with an
asphalt sealant.
A huge earthen manure tank has been
in use for about seven years near New
Dundee and the Hemingways say there
has been no seepage problem, although
the tank is "within sight" of a well that
serves as part of Kitchener -Waterloo.
The Hemingways, and provincial
officials. saw their earthen manure pit as a
test case for the proposed Ontario
guidelines. Dan Brown, a groundwater
evaluator with the Ministry of Environ-
ment "the proposed earthen storage for
liquid manure is adequately designed and
located and will cause minimal ground
water impact."
But some people in Grey Township have
trouble believing this. The township has
sink holes in a couple of municipal drains
not far from the Hemingway property and
township council asked Mr. Brown, to
investigate the possibility of contaminat-
ion.
He found no trace of a dye dumped in
the sinkholes in five neighbouring wells.
He concluded that the wells and sinkholes
are connected but there's enough dilution
by groundwater to protect the wells from
sinkhole contamination.
Grey Township has since hired an
engineering firm. Canviro Consultants of
Kitchener to duplicate and check the
ministry's tests.
Reeve Roy Williamson says Grey
wanted "a little more extensive" report
than the ministry's and he's waiting for
that report before commenting on what
council's next step is.
Faced with the arguments in Grey
Township, and in other areas of Huron,
the county council is at work developing a
liquid manure storage by-law. A commit-
tee will report in February and Reeve Paul
Steckle of Stanley Township says
once the by-law passes Huron County
Council, it's hoped all Huron municipalit-
ies will use it.
Mr. Brown reported surface water
contamination of some of the wells he dye
tested and this is one of the Hemingways'
concerns. Neil Hemingway says because
(cont. on page 16)
• PG. 10 THE RURAL VOICE/JANUARY 1982