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Page 3 of 3 <br /> Scott Tyrrell, Aide <br /> Leroy Ornellas <br /> Supervisor, Fifth District <br /> San Joaquin County <br /> 44 N. San Joaquin Street <br /> Suite 627 <br /> Stockton, CA 95202 <br /> (209) 468-0181 <br /> (209) 468-2189 fax <br /> styrrell@sjgov.org <br /> www.sjgov.org <br /> News <br /> FRENCH CAMP EGG FARM LAWSUIT ORDERED TO TRIAL <br /> MANURE LAGOON POLLUTION LED TO LEGAL ACTION <br /> By Staff and ware reports <br /> August 13,2010 <br /> CLARIFICATION: Aug. 13, 2010 <br /> The Humane Society of the United States is the organization's full name. <br /> A federal judge says a lawsuit filed seeking penalties against one of California's largest egg-producing facilities <br /> over pollution from its French Camp manure lagoon should go to trial. <br /> U.S. District Court Judge John Mendez in Sacramento rejected a motion to dismiss the case by Olivera Egg <br /> Ranch. The egg farm, located south of Bowman Road and west of Interstate 5, has a 16.5-acre lagoon and more <br /> than 700,000 chickens in cages at its facility. <br /> The Humane Society of the United States filed the suit on behalf of the farm's neighbors, claiming the farm has <br /> been allowed to flout state and federal environmental laws governing air pollution. <br /> The suit claims the farm's manure pond emits unhealthy levels of ammonia into the air, which burns neighboring <br /> residents'eyes and is a nuisance. A lawyer for the farm, Jared Mueller, did not return a call seeking comment. <br /> The Humane Society petitioned state air regulators, claiming the egg ranch has failed for years to report its air <br /> emissions to federal and state agencies. <br /> Olivera Egg Ranch faces six violations for expanding and operating its facilities without proper permits. The <br /> lagoon, claims the lawsuit, is filled with waste sludge. Chicken urine and feces are pumped daily through pipes <br /> connecting the laying facilities with the lagoon. <br /> Residents say they've complained for years to San Joaquin County air and environmental regulators, saying the <br /> stench and eye-burning fumes give them headaches and nausea. <br /> Some of the egg farm's neighbors have moved since Olivera was founded in the late 1990s. Others have stayed <br /> on, farming and raising families. Prompted by a Humane Society petition for an investigation, the air-pollution <br /> control district issued a string of violations earlier this year. <br /> The lawsuit, which seeks a cleanup and unspecified damages, alleges that"Olivera has systematically and <br /> continuously released unlawful levels of ammonia from the hen houses and manure lagoon into the local <br /> community without reporting them as required by (federal law) since at least 2004." <br /> 9/2/2010 <br />