The
story broke in December of 2005, when Michael Yoder, then
reporter for the Lititz Record, wrote a story that
later won the Keystone Award for Investigative Reporting. The story
revealed that Dale Rohrer's farm, "Lexington Acres," was the source
of what would turn out to be millions of gallons of raw manure, seeping
into the ground (and ground water) through damaged (and later found
to be improperly constructed) containment walls at the farm.
The
following timeline provides a list of the events that occurred from
the time Dale Rohrer began planning his farm in 2003, through its
construction in 2004, as well as official documentation of defects
and communications about them in 2005 and 2006. In the subsequent
years, ground and drinking water in the area affected by this farm
-- and the farms that use its manure as fertilizer -- have been shown
to have high levels of nitrates. Read Penn Futures' documentation,
entitled "Shoddy
Showcase",
by clicking
here.
Currently,
Dale Rohrer is seeking to renew his permit for
this farm, and it is our hope that at the very least, his
permit is denied until substantial improvements are made and the
number of pigs kept at this farm is reduced to a level that would
allow for less manure to be generated and so that the conditions
under which the pigs are kept can be improved. You can find out how
to submit public comment on this by clicking here. Note
that public comments must be received by September 1st, so don't
wait if you want to make yourself heard about this serious health
hazard.
TIMELINE
October
2003: Dale
Rohrer attends a Penn Township Zoning Board meeting, and seeks permission
to build 2 new barns and remodel an existing one, for the purposes
of running a pig farm. He documents plans to contract with Country
View Farms, a division of Hatfield Quality Meats, to manage the farm.
November
2003: Dale
Rohrer hires Northeast Agri Systems to build his 2 barns and remodel
an existing barn.
December
2003: Dale
Rohrer applies for a building permit,
citing $406,000 for construction costs. Later on, in 2006, when explaining
why he couldn't afford to fix the problems that the Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) found on his property, he claimed to have spent $2 million
on building his farm. This is found in his "Statement of Basis for
Appeal" on
Line #10 of 18 reasons for his appealing the DEP's findings as to the nature
of the problems on the farm with the manure containment and their requirements
for repairs/corrections. It's interesting to note that Dale Rohrer is currently
(2008) an official on the Penn Township Zoning Board.
April
27, 2004: Bill
Rogers, co-owner of AET Consulting of Lititz, PA, hired by Dale
Rohrer as a consultant, spoke at a Lititz Borough Council meeting, and
said, "Rohrer is actually exceeding requirements." In addition, he stated
there would be an "upgraded manure storage facility with a leak detection
system."
In a letter
from DEP to Dale Rohrer in 2006, DEP advises Dale Rohrer to install
the system (the one promised by Bill Rogers and that should have
been included in the barn built by Northeast
Agri Systems). The
letter stated, "We also advise you to install a perimeter leak-detection
system." This advice was given because one was never installed at
the time of construction.
November
2005: A NPDES CAFO Inspection Report cites "the side of the
structure was observed to be concrete block" -- instead of the solid concrete
that is required by law. The DEP engineers viewing the facility state that
Mr. Rohrer was not able provide any documentation showing that the structures
were designed or certified by an engineer.
December
2005: The DEP writes to Dale Rohrer, citing the many deficiencies
with his farm's manure containment structures. On December 16, 2005, Dale
Rohrer responds, admitting to the problem, stating that "using this assessment,
there are a few items that don't completely comply with the standard."
January
2006: Tim Royer,
owner of Timber Tech Engineering, and an engineer hired as a consultant
by Dale Rohrer and Northeast Agri Systems, misrepresents the status of
the Rohrer farm and its structures, submitting a Engineer Certification
Report that claims there are no defects, no leakage, and that backfilling
(to fix the seepage that had occurred) had been done properly. He further
states that no ground water was affected, and stamps/signs drawings that
falsely showed the structures having been built to code -- which they were
not.
February
through April 2006: Dale
Rohrer is questioned about the barns and his deficient structures, and
states that parts of the barn that are used for manure containment were
not used for that purpose, and finally admits that one of the walls was
in fact removed at one point. He misrepresents the nature of the replacement
wall, first claiming it was solid concrete (as is required by law) and
then later admitting it was concrete block. Tim Royer continues to claim,
during this time period, that the walls were always "liquid tight",
although they were proven not to be by photographic evidence, showing
seepage from the walls.
>>>
VIDEO: Watch
this video of Northeast Agri
Systems President David Newman, attesting on camera (speaking
to WGAL reporter Meredith Jorgensen) as to the fact that their
work at Rohrer's Lexington Acres was done according to the certified
plans and designs (it wasn't), that
it was safe (it wasn't and isn't), and
that there was no "evidence" of leakage at that time (there
was). It's not surprising that he makes this choice of words,
rather than stating that there was no leakage. You can see his discomfort
at making these statements -- note his darting eyes and the flub
at the end of the interview and his clumsy use of the word "constructively,"
referring to the construction of the barns at Rohrer's farm. Within
very little time after this interview aired, his misrepresentations
were exposed. <<<
June
2006: The DEP
documents the seepage, coming through the
block walls and directly entering the ground. Even with changes required
by the DEP, the farm still does not meet the minimum requirements for safe
containment of manure. Some of the defects cannot ever be fixed without
tearing down the barns and starting from scratch. Why would the DEP not
force Rohrer to do this? Because the DEP has "discretionary enforcement"
ability -- which means they can choose which offenses to prosecute and
which ones to essentially ignore. They have chosen to ignore the ongoing
defects at this farm and moreover, not ONE FINE has been levied against
Mr. Rohrer for the defects and his misrepresentations of them.
Now? The
nitrate levels continue to be high, putting
the lives of those who drink the water in the area at risk. Mr. Rohrer
wants to continue running his hog farm under unsafe conditions, and
Kreider Farms wants to expand, which means even more factory farm waste
in the environment, and more factory farm animals
abused in horrendous
ways. The public must speak up -- to elected officials, who are
supposed to be protecting the citizens from unsafe drinking water and
preventable pollution. You can demand that
changes are made and that the persons responsible for the damage to
the environment pay for solutions. Click here to
find out how make a simple statement, exercising your right to speak up
for yourself, your family, and your neighbors. Click here to email the
League of Humane Voters for other ways to help.
