North San Diego County: Egg farm warned over water quality violation

From the North County Times:

Environmental regulators are threatening fines against one of North County’s largest farms, saying it hasn’t done enough to prevent chicken manure and contaminated water from flowing onto neighbors’ property and into nearby waterways.

The California Regional Water Quality Control Board warned Armstrong Farms in a Nov. 21 letter that fines of $1,000 a day and criminal prosecution may follow if the company doesn’t act to contain runoff. Inspectors said they didn’t see contaminated water leaving Armstrong’s egg ranch in Valley Center, near the intersection of North Lake Wohlford and Paradise Mountain roads, during an inspection in late October, but they said they saw evidence of recent runoff.

The state’s letter also follows six similar warnings that San Diego County agricultural officials issued to Armstrong between April 2005 and August 2008 for allegedly allowing contaminated water to run onto neighboring land and storm drains in Valley Center and from a similar Armstrong operation in Ramona. Most of water comes from egg washers and from sprinklers used to cool the roofs of chicken houses on hot days, according to the citations and co-owner Ryan Armstrong.

North County’s scenic hinterland is something of a center for egg production because of its moderate climate and demand from Southern California’s densely populated coast. A dozen or more farms in the area house a total of 2.5 million to 3 million hens. Armstrong is the second-largest laying operation, with some 500,000 hens.

“We don’t find that many that are out of compliance,” San Diego County Agricultural Commissioner Bob Atkins said Wednesday. “Most of the industry is doing its best.”

Read more from the North County Times by clicking here.

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