# Human waste dumped in the creek



## grizzschmitt (Jan 15, 2014)

Don't know if this is the place for this or not but here goes. I live on one of the unmentionables that runs into the Muskegon. Recently a farm began receiving truckloads of digester water that processes waste for human food production from another county.
It smells very similar to when getting your septic tank pumped. Today on my way home you could see that they had just spread on the field adjacent to creek. In spots where the creek is over the banks you can see it mixing together. Does anyone here have any input to the legality of this. Maybe ideas of people to contact that might be able to help.


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## PunyTrout (Mar 23, 2007)

grizzschmitt said:


> Maybe ideas of people to contact that might be able to help.


If you're concerned about it contact the Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality. MDEQ.


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## FISHMANMARK (Jun 11, 2007)

PunyTrout said:


> If you're concerned about it contact the Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality. MDEQ.


And your county health dept.


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## PerchOnly (Oct 24, 2007)

along with the above, your township supervisor or if your in city, your city supervisor. Also don't be afraid to get your state representative and county rep involved. It's one of the reasons why they get a paycheck.


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## Chessieman (Dec 8, 2009)

Happened to me that liquid manure was applied to a field next to me. Had 1 1/2" of rain the next day. Called the DEQ and the DNR hotline. Farmer was talking and explaining the following day and sweating it. Should have been Chiseled plowed on the circumference within a day. Of course we had the previous fish kill from manure that happened to wipe out 35 miles of Black River. That was over 200K in cost plus. CALL NOW!


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## grizzschmitt (Jan 15, 2014)

Call was placed to the deq waiting for a response. I will explore the other avenues mentioned. Thanks for the information guys. I will post updates good or bad.


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## tuckersdad (Oct 30, 2010)

DEQ PEAS line...County Health Dept., Dept. of Ag...


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## 6Speed (Mar 8, 2013)

911 or better yet a non emergency phone number. Let them figure out who to call...


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## tuckersdad (Oct 30, 2010)

I responded to these calls...about 75 in 27 years before retirement...see above post...


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## GRUNDY (Jun 18, 2005)

I’d make a call. That practice is irresponsible at best. Can’t stand seeing a field with **** soup laying in the furrows. You know where that’s going the next time it rains. 

Coming to a waterbody near you!

All to make corn gas or feed pigs


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## slightofhand (Jul 21, 2010)

Actually it’s not illegal, it’s encouraged. It’s grey water from water treatment plants that is offered free to farmers as fertilizer. Supported and encouraged by epa and deq as an alternative to actual fertilizer. No harm from it, usually it’s knifed in though during soft ground


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## Nostromo (Feb 14, 2012)

They used to spread liquid manure on the land I hunt. It was dairy waste and not human which I'm sure is still not allowed. Now they knife it in and it's not a problem. Neighbors complained and around the same time the drain commissioner got involved clearing out the trees along the drain.

The Drain Commissioner's power is essentially limitless when it comes to drains etc. Maybe his/her office is the ones to call?

Good luck either way.


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## grizzschmitt (Jan 15, 2014)

This particular farm doesn't knife in any of their liquid manure ever.


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## Chessieman (Dec 8, 2009)

slightofhand said:


> Actually it’s not illegal, it’s encouraged. It’s grey water from water treatment plants that is offered free to farmers as fertilizer. Supported and encouraged by epa and deq as an alternative to actual fertilizer. No harm from it, usually it’s knifed in though during soft ground


What rock do you live under? Sure some farmers like to inject the sludge into their ground and it does have some Nitrogen value. Other guys would only put this sxxt in their ground if it is a cold day in hell. Once you put this in your ground all the chemicals from the manufacturing plants and your medicine cabinets are in your ground forever. We are talking about the micro plastics from Toothpaste to our latest chemical scare used in the chrome plating industries. There is no Bacteria in the sludge, the UV treatment kills it all. 
The DEQ allows this because it is CHEAP to get rid of it, Detroit burns theirs. The DEQ allows these small rural cities to pump out their sludge ponds in the spring floods into or waterways. You would think the the DEQ would force them to remove and inject it in their surrounding farmland, the farmers would jump at it. At least that sludge would be from human waste not manufacturing waste in these rural cities. In the thumb Croswell dumps into the Black River and Yale dumps into Mill Creek. You can go 20 miles down stream from Yale and see the thick green weeds in May. Sure, save money and dump your sxxt in the waterways.


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## Nostromo (Feb 14, 2012)

grizzschmitt said:


> This particular farm doesn't knife in any of their liquid manure ever.


Well, it's time they started. Pressure is the key....


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## grizzschmitt (Jan 15, 2014)

It's funny you mentioned green weeds in the creek. This is a cold water stream with a large population of native natural reproducing brook trout. It never receives plants from the dnr. Last year during the summer the creek bottom was covered with long strange strands of weeds, almost like horse hair, I've lived on the creek for 10 years and last year was the first time seeing this. Can I say definitively if this was caused by high "nutrient" levels, no I cannot, but it certainly can't be helpful.


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## Chessieman (Dec 8, 2009)

No, Mill Creek is not a Brook Trout stream. We are talking about the same weeds through. About 5 feet long, thick and sway in the current. If there is no heavy spring flood then you see these. The Mill Creek / Black River watershed produces the natural Salmon and Steel Head that has feed the lower Lake Huron since their original planting. Once or if the Ford Dam is removed from Black River you will see a double increase of natural producing fish. If that happens you will be seeing Kings in the farm ditches all through the thumb!


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## slightofhand (Jul 21, 2010)

Chessieman said:


> What rock do you live under? Sure some farmers like to inject the sludge into their ground and it does have some Nitrogen value. Other guys would only put this sxxt in their ground if it is a cold day in hell. Once you put this in your ground all the chemicals from the manufacturing plants and your medicine cabinets are in your ground forever. We are talking about the micro plastics from Toothpaste to our latest chemical scare used in the chrome plating industries. There is no Bacteria in the sludge, the UV treatment kills it all.
> The DEQ allows this because it is CHEAP to get rid of it, Detroit burns theirs. The DEQ allows these small rural cities to pump out their sludge ponds in the spring floods into or waterways. You would think the the DEQ would force them to remove and inject it in their surrounding farmland, the farmers would jump at it. At least that sludge would be from human waste not manufacturing waste in these rural cities. In the thumb Croswell dumps into the Black River and Yale dumps into Mill Creek. You can go 20 miles down stream from Yale and see the thick green weeds in May. Sure, save money and dump your sxxt in the waterways.


I’m talking about gray water, no solids. It’s used all the time...everywhere


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## grizzschmitt (Jan 15, 2014)

You can call it grey water, guy from DEQ calls it "digestate", I won't call it human waste anymore because it supposedly contains no human fecal matter, so now I'm going to call it industrial waste because it from an industrial food production facility. Apparently the digester can't handle the volume it's receiving and the county where it's located can't handle the "nutrient" load. I have gotten the reports on paper of it's content, maps of where it's supposed to be applied, and alot of ambiguity as to what's supposed to happen with the stuff. Arguments on what is the creek and what isn't. Bottom line is whether or not the farmer is in compliance with regulations. Burden of proof is on the deq, right now they have no way of knowing whether or not the black snow I found behind my house contains industrial waste or just cow manure. I took a sample of it. Gave it to deq guy. He may not be able to tell the difference but I can because the smell is very unique. Waiting to see where this goes.


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## Chessieman (Dec 8, 2009)

What they are chesseling and injecting in our area is the human and industrial waste that can not be broken down any further and due to the lights. All the Bacteria is killed. It is no good for our landfill bioreactor. All our septic pumpers are required to take their waste to the landfill for pumping into the bioreactor at a cheap price. All out of county pumpers can dump for free. The reactor is only running at I think 50% of the capability. 

https://www.waste360.com/operations/michigan-county-seeing-good-results-using-septic-waste-landfill


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