DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - State environmental officials say a hog farmer left a valve open on a manure transfer pump, causing thousands of gallons of manure to spill and flow toward a creek in northeast Iowa.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says the spill happened about two miles east of Petersburg in Delaware County on Tuesday.
Officials say the producer, Dan Goedken, of rural New Vienna, left the valve open about 8 a.m.
The DNR says that when Goedken discovered the mistake, he shut off the valve, built a retention dike to minimize the flow to the creek and contacted the agency.
Officials estimate 2,000 to 5,000 gallons of liquid manure spilled by the time the valve was closed. An unknown amount reached the creek, killing fish.