DNR discovers cattle feedlot that likely polluted creek for years

A smaller cattle feedlot in northeast Iowa likely polluted a creek for years during heavy rainfall, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

The feedlot near Elma, owned by Curtis Fox, has about 650 cattle and is small enough that it’s not required to have a state-approved plan for managing its manure. It is, however, prohibited from discharging manure into the state’s streams.

Its existence was discovered by the DNR in 2018 as part of the department’s ongoing efforts to monitor livestock operations that don’t have the manure plans, said Jeremy Klatt, a senior environmental specialist for the department.

“A lot of facilities don’t need any permits to build or start operating,” he said.

An inspection of the site in 2019 found the potential for manure-laden rainwater to wash into a nearby creek that flows to the Little Cedar River, although no such discharge was happening at the time of the inspection, according to a recent DNR order.

The operator of the site, Ted Fox, said he intended to construct something to contain the runoff with the help of federal conservation officials, the order said. However, that plan stalled during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic when the federal help was unavailable.

In April 2022 the DNR documented a likely manure discharge from the facility and confirmed another in May 2023 during an inspection, DNR records show.

“Ted Fox acknowledged that the feedlot runoff was entering the tile and discharging to the creek,” the order said.

Tests confirmed the contamination of the creek, but no dead fish were found, Klatt said.

It’s unclear how many times manure might have reached the creek. Large buildings on the site were constructed as early as 1950, according to county records.

The DNR recently ordered Curtis Fox to pay a $5,000 fine and to construct a “manure control system for the facility.”