What's It Like to Live Next to an Industrialized Dairy In New Mexico?
Clif Mann, neighbor of County Line Dairy in Lake Arthur, New Mexico, Tells His Story (from a flyer by Clif Mann, used with his permission): I Live Next to a Dairy. Do You?
My name is Clif Mann. I live next to County Line Dairy in Lake Arthur. I want to tell you what a real human being has to live with next to a dairy in New Mexico.
I've lived on my 40 acres in Lake Arthur since the fall of '98. I believe in free enterprise and capitalism and I believe everyone should have the right to make lots of money. But I don't believe that anybody should be allowed to profit at the expense of their neighbor's health, quality of life, or property values.
I moved into my place in the late fall when it was cool. We didn't smell the stench from the dairy until that spring. The odor has gradually gotten stronger and stronger.
In 2001, we started to see more skunks and coyotes on our property and lots of buzzards circling across the road. I wanted to see what this was all about, so I went to see where this awful smell was coming from. I found a ditch over a half mile long with manure water in it. It even had an embryo of a calf in it. I also found big pits full of medical waste, syringes, baby calves, and mother cows. I have lots of video if you want to see it (but I suggest you don't look at the video at dinnertime).
I contacted my neighbor, the owner, and he assured me that the practice would stop, and it would never happen again. But at the end of 2003, to my surprise, I found even more huge pits full of dead animals and medical waste. It was awful to look at and even worse to smell. I have video of that, too.
I contacted the EPA, but before they arrived, the dairy had covered up most of the rotting carcasses and the medical waste with dirt. They even had the audacity to tell me this was "animal composting." To me, this is chemical and biological waste that is unlawful, even in most third world countries. And the biggest question of all remains unanswered: exactly WHAT did all these animals die from? These pits were about 20 feet deep. My water is about 20 feet deep. This has to be leaching into my water and nobody seems to care.
So that's why I am here: I want some action NOW.
It's obvious we can't count on the EPA in Dallas to do its job and keep us safe. We need you guys in Santa Fe to stick up for us. The dairy industry's got the money and the lobbyists and the hired guns. All I can do is show you what it's REALLY like to live next to one of these dairies. These are pictures I've taken that show you a little bit about what I live with every day.
I wish I could put the smell of these dairies on paper so you could really appreciate my problem. It's not the sweet-smelling hay smell of horse manure-this is a rotten, musty, sickening smell of death. You won't believe how many flies there are on the side of my house in the summertime. They turn the walls black. Not to say anything about the rats, fleas, coyotes, skunks, buzzards, and cockroaches that flock around these dairies.
I also know that the legal nitrate level for drinking water is 10 mg/l and I know that at least TEN of County Line's monitoring wells have been above that limit. Monitoring well #4 is right across the road from my water well. The last test in that monitoring well showed 42--more than FOUR times the legal limit.
I also know that nitrates come from manure. So my family is bathing, showering and brushing teeth with water that has this filth in it. I've also lost a foal and am worried about my three pregnant mares. What will happen in the spring? Will I lose those foals because my water is polluted with nitrates? As far as I know, no one is doing ANYTHING to make this dairy correct the problem.
And to compound my problem, Senator Stuart Ingle has proposed Senate Bill 583 and Senate Bill 221 that would prevent people like me from even finding satisfactory recourse in the courts. And Jose Campos has introduced a companion bill, House Bill 711. Should these bills become law, this would mean that the state of New Mexico is turning over to the EPA and federal government the decision-making process for our water here in New Mexico and letting it make rules that we have to live by.
It's hard for me to understand why any New Mexico legislator would surrender our powers to the federal government, rather than insuring that decisions about New Mexico's waters are made by and for New Mexicans. These proposed bills aren't about protecting family farms. I'm a family farmer. This is about shielding wealthy owners of huge dairy factories FROM members of the public and family farmers like me who have legitimate grievances.
Clif Mann, Lake Arthur
Click Here to visit Clif Mann's web site.
