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FRENCH CAMP,Calif. (AP)—At the end of a remote road lined by houses,children play in yards <br /> just a short distance from a stagnant, 16.5-acre lagoon filled with the waste sludge of a factory egg <br /> farm. <br /> Flies hover over the pond as chicken urine and feces get pumped daily through white pipes <br /> connected from Olivera Egg Ranch's huge laying facilities,which can house more than 7oo,000 <br /> caged chickens. <br /> Residents of this town 8o miles east of San Francisco say they've complained for years to local air <br /> and environmental regulators about the waste lagoon,saying the stench and eye-burning fumes give <br /> them headaches and nausea.They say nothing changed. <br /> Now,after the Humane Society of the United States petitioned state air regulators for an <br /> investigation last month,Olivera Egg Ranch is facing six violations for expanding and operating its <br /> facilities without proper permits. <br /> The Humane Society has also filed a lawsuit on behalf of 10 area residents,accusing Olivera of failing <br /> for years to report its air emissions to federal and state agencies. <br /> On Thursday,a federal judge found that Olivera had"spoiled evidence"by dredging the manure <br /> lagoon prior to a site visit by society scientists. <br /> "I don't necessarily think the lawsuit is fair or on any solid basis,"said Edward Olivera,the farm's <br /> owner.Olivera would not comment on the violations,and referred further questions to his lawyer. <br /> The lawyer,Jared Mueller,did not return calls seeking comment but in court papers denied the suit's <br /> allegations. <br /> The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District referred odor complaints over the years to the <br /> county Board of Health. <br /> Robert McClellon,a program coordinator for the board,said Olivera had been cited for violating <br /> manure management practices and unacceptable fly breeding.But he said his agency does not <br /> regulate ammonia or handle odor complaints. <br /> Although some of the egg farm's neighbors moved out of the area since it was founded in late 199os, <br /> others stayed on,farming and raising families. <br /> "My husband and I farmed from sunrise to sunset,we're out there exposed to the smell and whatever <br /> else was out there coming from the Olivera farm,"said Lita Galicinao,79,whose late husband Sam <br /> built their home when they bought land after relocating from the Philippines in 1954• <br /> So it was really hard to work in the heat plus with the smell,a lot of times you feel nauseated,but <br /> that's our livelihood.We have to go out there and work." <br /> Prompted by a Humane Society petition for an investigation,the air pollution control district issued <br /> a string of violations Feb.5 to the Olivera farm for failing to file a number of permits required by <br /> state law.The permits,if filed,would have spurred regular inspections over the years and could have <br /> led to changes. <br /> "Based on our investigation to this point we feel they were in violation of our rules and regulations," <br /> said Morgan Lambert,director of compliance for the air district. <br /> Citing the ongoing investigation,he declined to comment further. <br />