Agreement Reached with Indy Manure Lawsuit

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller says his office has reached an agreement with a northeast Iowa couple that requires them to pay a $15,000 fine for allowing hog manure to end up in a creek killing thousands of fish.

James and Sue Frye of Independence also agreed Thursday to abide by state water pollution and manure control regulations in court documents outlining their settlement of an environmental lawsuit Miller filed.

The Fryes admitted to improperly applying 96,000 gallons of manure to fields around their swine operation southeast of Hazelton in September and failing to notify the state when it flowed through field drainage tiles into Pine Creek and killed more than 5,000 fish.