" I don't recall the rain being that much more than was expected. "

" BTW, if you could show me, Farmer's Friend, where you found info that there is in fact a regulation of COWS to land, and not just amount of manure to the acre, and you could show me where we now have regulations about soil conditions when spreading, I would gladly stand corrected, and be happy about it. Next, I'd like to see it enforced. Big farms SHOULD be watched more than small farms, because if a big farms makes a mistake, it makes a much larger impact on the environment than a little place with 50 or 60 cows. But you do make one good point -- that the size does not necessarily determine the quality of the operation. I have seen small farms where animals are in disgusting, terrible conditions, and I have heard of large farms where there are earnest efforts made to do things safely and right -- my prejudices grow out of seeing first hand many more which go the other way -- that doesn't mean there aren't exceptions. And I am about to go read the latest article on possible penalties to the Rejman farm for the runoff. I have mixed feelings about that -- I would like to see the big farms rewarding for efforts to operate within the healthy and safe bounds -- so I don't know they should be penalized (or at least not heavily) for reporting the problem in their own operation. I've had area farmers say to me that it was so obvious that they couldn't possibly lie about it -- be that as it may be, they did do the right thing, albeit after the fact. They should be praised for doing the right thing -- I daresay the cost of clean up will be plenty without adding a fine on top of it (having lived somewhere they had an environmental spill of heating oil and had to clean it up -- the landlord paid more than double my annual salary just in clean-up for his laziness and lack of maintenance -- I know it isn't cheap). Give them credit where it is due, acknowledge that there are some big farms who make a more earnest effort than others (though I still prefer the smaller farms for a healthy livestyle for both animals and humans), and acknowledge that there are small farms where people allow their animals to live in filth and suffer slow deaths of neglect -- thanks for bringing me (and the public) to a more balanced view. Hope you check back here and see my final word.... "

" Yes, there are regulations. But NO, they are not enforced. Check that huge spread they did in the Post-Standard a couple summers ago. No one checks to make sure that the big farms are keeping inside the limits, not even spot checks. The farms do some self-reporting, but no one checks to be sure they are reporting accurately. The article in the P-S cited officials admitting as much, plain and clear. Yes, in this instance, there was a surprise excess of rain. But that doesn't explain all the other times and places where there is obvious runoff on a regular basis, nor does it do anything about the many, many dug wells which are polluted with e-coli all over the area. And I still maintain that there should also be regulations for soil conditions as there are in Texas -- that if the ground is already saturated, you can't spread because the manure has no where to go but to runoff. And my understanding was that the ratio was based on how much manure an average cow produces, then much manure per acre was allowed, which is not the same thing as how many cows per acre. Clearly, many of these big farms have more cows than their own land can bear because they are constantly sending their agents around looking for other farms on which to spread -- this I know for a fact because my boyfriend has said NO a few times, which hasn't made him popular with the big farmers, but it makes him much more popular with me and his family who have to live next to the smell. "

" Wow, Farmer's Friend, work on that grammar, spelling & punctuation the next time you post a comment. "

" I can certainly understand being concerned about the environment. I love the finger Lakes region. I love to fish the lakes and streams. So, this is an interesting situation. The Rejman family is truely trying to run a responsible business. This mistake that happened is unfortunate. And I know that the family is deeply sadened to let down their neighbors. Now, let us think about the reality of the situation. If Rejman's can no longer run a profitable business here, they will sell the land. How happy would everyone be if the beautiful farm land was converted into a vast parking lot with low income housing and strip malls? One very important fact. The US farmers are truly feeding the world. It's easy to label these large productive farmers as "Corporate Farms", that just has a nice ring to it. However, almost all of the farms in Cayuga county are owned by families that actually live on the farmsteads. Have you ever stopped to think about how much tax these famlies pay to the school system? If we make regulations that limit their productivity and profits, we will be limiting the supply of food world wide. How do you think that would affect the impoverished nations of Africa, Asia and South & Central America. We need to be mindful of the enviorment, but lets not get carried away! Because we have familes farming the area that actually are proactive and confront their mistakes. "

" This is an unfortunate incident where higher than predicted rainfall caused the effluent. The Rejmans closely follow the environmental plan for their family farm and should be commended for accepting responsibility and their quick and voluntary response. New York State does have strict environmental standards in place. These standards, known as CAFO, do dictate when, how much and where a farmer can spread manure, based on the soil conditions. Because of these standards many farmers have begun storing liquid manure in pits, so it can easily be handled and recycled back onto fields at appropriate times. We should judge farmers by their management practices and the care they take of their cows, not by the size of their farms. "

" next time u go to the store to buy food remeber this DON'T COMPLAINT ABOUT FARMERS WITH YOUR MOUTH FULL. if u thing about it u really can't buy much in the world with out farmers to start the circle. "

" THERE IS LAWS FOR THE RATIO OF LAND TO COWS,IF U DID YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE TALKING U WOULD KNOW MORE ABOUT FARMING,AND MOST BIG FARMS ARE VERY RESPONSIBLE WITH THE ENVIORMENT,AS WELL AS LITTLE FARMS,U CAN'T LIMIT THE NUMBER OF COWS ONE FARM CAN HAVE THATS UNAMERICAN TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT.BIG FARMS ARE WATCHED MUCH MORE THAN A SMALL FARM.BUT MUST DON'T PAY ATTENTION TO THAT,I HAVE GROWIN UP ON A BIG FARM,AND I'M APART OF FARMING EVERYDAY I KNOW WHAT BIG FARMS GO THROUGH EVERYDAY WITH INSPECTIONS AND THE DEC,EPA ALL MILK INSPECTIONS,WITHOUT BEING AROUND A BIG FARM HOW CAN U PEOPLE BAD MOUTH A GOOD WELL KNOWN FARM. "

" Too bad my ex moved away -- he could EASILY have documented visible pollution regularly in the creek behind his house, coming down from fields uphill of Route 38 and down into Owasco Lake. Over and over again. (The well there was polluted with e-coli and undrinkable too). Some years ago, he tried calling around to various agencies to see what he could do about it, but was always given the run-around and discouraged and his complaints never went anywhere. I hope readers living in places where it can be documented the way it could have been at my ex's former house will indeed come forward and make the reports. "

" Residents who observe visible pollution of ditches that flow continuously to streams or other permanent waterways should report their observations to DEC's Office of Legal Affairs in albany, 518-402-9185 (phone); 518-402-9018 (fax). Pictures with a narrative establishing the continuous flow and the location of the receiving waterbody will help. DEC should then investigate the incident for enforcement. "

" PU, you are 100% right. When my fella and his dad had their own cows, they spread manure every day (every other day in winter or bad weather). They only had about 65 cows, and they spread what they mucked out each day, so it wasn't this nasty fermented liquid stuff. Fresh cow manure doesn't really smell bad at all, and they had enough land to take the manure from their own cows. You hit the problem right on the head -- greedy corporate farms who have more animals than the land can bear, who have huge amounts of waste fermenting in "pools" which gets concentrated and stinks terribly, and then they hire someone else to come take it away, who then has to go desperately around the countryside begging other farmers to let him spread on their fields as well. I think farms should be limited in the number of cows they can have to the number that fits a mandated ratio of how many animals an acre of land can support -- both for feeding and for spreading waste. The cows on these CAFOs seem to be always tethered miserably in their dirty stalls, never allowed the freedom to roam around a pasture, get fresh air and sunshine, graze fresh grass, etc. Though a hard life work-wise, old-style farming on small farms is a healthy way -- the animals can be treated humanely and be healthy without needing to be constantly injected with antibiotics, and the relationship of the animals, their waste, the land and the water was in an environmentally safe balance. It's knowing that what underlies the caked manure and the smell is so unhealthy for us all -- people, animals and environment -- that disturbs me the most, while those big farms just keep driving the little guys out of business and buying up their land to get even bigger. "

" It's the liquid manure of the large farms that STINK. Too bad that the huge dairy farmers around here don't see a problem with adding on cows, buying up land and cakeing on the manure as thick as they can. What an eyesore. (And funny how you seldom even get a glimpse of a cow on any of these farms!) Love to see the small farms with cows out enjoying the pasture -- and spreaders that spread the light old-fashioned way. "

" This sort of thing is seldom a problem at the small stuggling family farms; even if they did have an accident, they simply don't have the numbers of animals or the volume of waste. Yes, give Rejmans credit for trying to do something about it -- though it's after the fact. But there are many more CAFOs out there who aren't even doing that much. I DO understand what farmers go through -- that doesn't mean I think it is OK for the huge corporate farms to be environmentally irresponsible in a way that puts our human health at risk any more than I would for any other corporation. Those CAFO regulations need to be strenuously enforced and if that's a hardship on farms, so be it -- when they aren't enforced it is worse than just a hardship on all of us in terms of our water supply. (BTW, if you live in farm country, the smell comes with the territory -- get over it or move). "

" This is not a small struggling dairy farm. This is a factory farm competing to be the biggest. "

" This is why the Fingerlakes literally STINK. We live in a place that has the constant never ending stench of animal dung. Disease and bacteria are running wild causing sickness and discomfort. The lakes are fetid and the air is full of farm pollution. I do give the farmer credit for doing the right thing. He is probably a responsible person who does care about the environment and we need more folks like him. "

" You can't tell me this is an isolated incident! If there are no regulations put in place how can this issue be addressed? New York State "has" to have some regulatory basis for all this MESS. "

" you people don't know what farms have to go threw to stay in business with a lot of laws like this.no one talks about how sewege treatment plants can open the gates and let human waste in to our water supply and its legal.at least the farm steped up to the plate and is making a attempt at the issue. "

" It doesn't matter how "minimal" the runoff was. "

" Are you listening? There are at least 10 more similar stories for every one posted here. Maybe Rejman's were following CAFO regulations, but no one checks (see 2+ page spread in Post Standard a couple summers back for documentation) -- but what good is that if we don't even have regulations for soil conditions, notations of underground waterways, etc.? "

" We've been picking up trash out of the ditches in our neighborhood in Ledyard and there is manure run-off in all of them. This is not an isolated incident. "

" THATS RIGHT ACCIDENTS HAPPEN. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A FARM ACCIDENT SUCH AS THIS ONE RUNS INTO SALMON CREEK. THIS COULD PUT TOWN OF GENOA OUT OF WATER SUPPLY TO SOME 300 PEOPLE. THERE IS NOTED TWO MANURE PONDS AT THE LEDGE OF THE HILL OVER LOOKING THE TOWN OF GENOA WELLS ON THE NORTH END OF INDIAN FIELD ROAD. "

" This goes on all the time all over this area. In Texas, there are regulations not only for how much manure can be spread, but also regulations for soil conditions when spreading -- I mean, if the ground is already saturated, then you spread, it will just run off -- it's a no-brainer. But in New York we don't even enforce the flimsy standards for how much is allowed to be spread. So, lakes and wells are polluted, people get sick, no one cares. "

" this type of situation is why owasco lake is in the shape its in "