Egg-farm neighbors testify on flies, manure stench

AUGUSTA – Neighbors of the DeCoster egg farm testified about the smell and flies that keep them from sleeping and stifle their social lives, but they must wait four weeks to see if a state board will rescind the farm’s permits.

The Nutrient Management Review Board heard six hours of testimony Wednesday, then postponed any action until March 31.

More than a half-dozen people who live near the 1,500-acre farm testified before the panel. They described the stench of manure that is sometimes so bad it wakes them from their sleep. They showed photos of gallon-size fly traps nearly filled to the brim with the pests. They told of how the odor and flies ruined cookouts and pool parties and keep their children from having friends over.

The people who testified are among a dozen Turner families who live near the DeCoster farm. They are appealing the permits that allow the company to do business. They say they don’t want to shut it down, they just want the stench of manure to go away, along with the flies that breed in it.

Elizabeth Blackwood displayed bags filled with flypaper covered with carcasses. The bugs get so thick at times, she said, that she has to change the papers that hang throughout her home sometimes daily, and always within three days.

Another neighbor, Michael Alexander, said years of living with the farms’ stench and “thousands of flies” have affected his health to the point where he has been prescribed antidepressants.

The neighbors’ lawyer said he would sue the farms later this week. Kenneth Whittaker said he will ask the judge to order the farms to take steps to eliminate manure odor and flies that his clients say plague their existence.

John H. Martin Jr., an expert witness hired by Whittaker, challenged DeCoster’s methods of handling and storing the manure from its 4 million laying hens.