Neighbors fume about hog lagoon's odor

Wendingers says gases from lagoon make them sick

By GUY PRIEL

Journal Staff Writer

ST. GEORGE -- Although he still lives on the family farm on which he grew up, one St. George resident says farming has been making him sick for the past five years, literally.

As a result, Gerald Wendinger, 51, is forced to shut his windows and remain indoors most of the time. He has registered his complaints with state and county officials regarding the problem.

The problem, according to officials, is odor from the nearby hog feedlot owned by Jerome Forst. The 700-animal unit feedlot has a lagoon that is used to store hog manure until it can be spread on a field. St. George is located in West Newton Township, Nicollet County, less than 10 miles from New Ulm.

Wendinger recently filed a complaint with the Minnesota Attorney General's Office to force action on the situation.

"We have had lots of trouble ever since the open lagoon was built on that property," Wendinger said. "We have had people out from New Ulm in the past, and they always leave complaining of headaches, nausea and sore throats."

The smell has become so bad the Wendingers must keep the windows closed. They replaced all vents opening to the outdoors to prevent the fumes from leaking into the house, his wife Julie said.

"I have had some form of bronchitis for the past five years," she said. "The lagoon was installed in 1995. That's when the problems began. All we are doing is looking for some help."

Officials with Minnesota Pollution Control Agency came to the Forst farm to test for what has been reported as hydrogen sulfide, which Wendinger says may be the problem. No problem has been found that violates any state laws.

"There is no potential to exceed ambient air levels out there, yet the complaints continue," MPCA Regional Feedlot Specialist Kate Brigman of Mankato said. "After various attempts at monitoring the odor output, we have set a meter at the property line that will directly address the situation by providing continuous monitoring of the site."

Under state feedlot ordinances, 30 parts per billion in a 30-minute period is an acceptable level for hydrogen sulfide. That amount is usually averaged during the period the area was monitored by a Jerome Monitor. With the continuous monitor, officials get a constant video recording of the atmosphere near the site. This helps determine high levels and a possible source, Nicollet County Environmental Services Director Tina Rosenstein said.

"I had someone out here from the PCA office in Olivia awhile back," Wendinger said. "When she left here, she was sick for two days. When the odor is bad, we know it'll mean a trip to the emergency room."

A letter from Wendinger's physician, Dr. Joan Krikava, indicates that he suffers from an allergic reaction to fumes. No medication has worked with any rate of success.

"People at the PCA are beginning to realize there is a problem out here," Wendinger said. "There are at least 200 different things in that lagoon that could potentially create a problem. I don't smell the hogs, mainly the lagoon. We have had enough people out here getting sick and something needs to be done."

Finding what's in the lagoon is not an easy process for officials, who must determine what is causing the odors and what the concentration of chemicals is, Rosenstein said.

Forst agreed to have the monitor installed on his property line. He is also in the process of developing a contingency plan, in case something harmful is discovered and requires correcting.

"Hydrogen sulfide may, indeed, be a problem, but that may not be the only thing that is out there," Rosenstein said. "Samples will be taken from the barns and the basin, and they will be tested. Things are very well calibrated."

Dealing with odor is a difficult process, because it is very subjective. What may be offensive to one person may not necessarily be offensive to someone else, Brigman said.

"We are doing what we can to determine if we have an odor problem," she said. "There is nothing special about this site, it is just part of the workload."

If some irritant is identified at the Forst lagoon, the findings will be sent to a laboratory in the Twin Cities for testing.

"The main problem with checking odors is that the wind can change rapidly," Brigman said. "We are trying to see if we can come up with an answer. If it's not hydrogen sulfide, then we need to see what else is there."