Hog farmer accused of polluting Marshall County water

The operator of this hog farm on Haskins Chapel Road has been accused of dumping over a half a million gallons of manure near Sutten Creek, which later allegedly contaminated the water supply of residents in neigboring Marshall County.
(T-G Photo by Brian Mosely) [Order this photo]

Charles Edward "Charlie" Haskins, 61, of Haskins Chapel Road was recently charged in Marshall County with four counts of causing pollution, five vandalism counts and six counts of reckless endangerment.

According to District Attorney Chuck Crawford, officials with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) brought him information about Haskins' farm from an on-going investigation several months ago.

However, Haskins told the Marshall County Tribune that he had liability insurance and that "they (nearby residents) signed off on (an agreement) and they were happy and they (Haskins' insurer) took care of it."

"I don't know where they get vandalism from spreading manure. I hired a company that's reputable in spreading it," Haskins said.

TDEC steps in

Haskins was served with a Director's Order from TDEC's Division of Water Pollution Control on Jan. 29 for violating the terms and conditions of his Class I Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and "operating a Class I CAFO without permit coverage in Bedford County."

Crawford said that Haskins is charged "with contaminating the water supply by dumping excessive amounts of waste from his hog production facilities."

"Farmers who have to dump huge amounts of waste ... must have a plan" for disposal, Crawford said. "He had a plan... We expect the proof to show that he exceeded the limitations placed on him by his plan."

The vandalism law "spells out contamination" as an offense, Crawford said, noting three pollution charges, and a reckless endangerment count in the indictments issued under seal on Aug. 19.

Haskins' case was presented directly to the Marshall County grand jury and he was arrested by Bedford County Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Holton, booked in Shelbyville, and released on $5,000 bond.

Crawford added that he has prosecuted one case that was vandalism based on contamination, "but not on this scale."

Haskins' farm is located near Duck River Speedway where the borders of Marshall and Bedford County meet.

Paper trail

The Director's Order from TDEC stated that Haskins was issued a Notice of Violation on Aug. 29, 2008 for failing to submit an application for a renewal of his NPDES permit and claimed that Haskins submitted an incomplete permit renewal application on Sept. 26, 2008.

Then on Nov. 14 of last year, personnel from TDEC's Columbia field office investigated "multiple private well complaints" in the vicinity of Haskins' hog operations.

"DWS (Department of Water Supply) personnel noted discoloration to several private wells in the area and noted an odor in the wells consistent with that of hog manure," the Director's Order read.

Three days later, a Department of Agriculture report stated that the potential sources of the contamination were farms in the area, one of which was Haskins'.

An inspection on Haskins' property was conducted the next day and found that the spreading of manure was done in November instead of March through June as required by the permit, there were no records of storage tank liquid manure levels kept and that nearly three times the permitted amount of hog waste had been spread onto a field next to Sutton Creek.

According to the TDEC document, "approximately 570,000 gallons of liquid manure waste had been applied" to the field in question.

The Director's Order also said that Haskins had failed to keep required records dealing with hog manure and assessed him a fine of $10,000, plus damages of $706.50, giving him 30 days to come into compliance.

Appeal

Haskins appealed the order a week later, claiming he had not seen the results of the waters tests and requested an extension of 120 days.

Robert Cox, Environmental Legal Counsel for TDEC, is assigned with handling the appeal of the director's order, but is not assisting with the criminal case against Haskins.

The hog farmer claims that the homes with the contaminated wells were 1.8 miles from his operation. Haskins also told the Marshall County paper that he has been dealing with TDEC for a year over the matter.

"I just wanted it to be over with and then they just up and did this," (the indictment) Haskins said. "There are these manure permits, I've got a book here like an encyclopedia on what you can do" and what's not allowed.

"They've got more regulations than you can imagine," Haskins said. "They've got rules on manure, like you've got nothing else to do."

Haskins will face Circuit Court Judge Robert Crigler in Marshall County for a Sept. 9 hearing.

Clint Confehr of the Marshall County Tribune contributed to this report.