Manure flowing from an agricultural processing pipeline polluted a watercourse. Aquatic fauna was killed over a stretch of over 8 km. The pollution, which occurred on a Monday, was only discovered Tuesday night by a neighbour noticing dead fish in the LITTLE SUGAR creek. The quantity lost, while not known with precision, may have extended some 40 m³. The diluted manure was stored in a lagoon near the farm, with the liquid being channelled by pipeline to the fields, where it was spread as fertiliser.

According to State authorities, this pollution was caused by defective aluminium plates installed on the pipe, leading to a several-hour discharge of manure. The quantity of fish adversely affected by the accident also remained unknown. This river’s fishing stocks had already decreased considerably after another accident in July 2001, when 6,000 fish were killed by a 4.5-m³ manure leak. The company had been fined $38,000 in 2001. Next, in 2003, it was required to pay another $25,000 in fines on the spot, though the scope of damage to the environment had not yet been established.

Among the measures adopted by the farm operator to lower the probability of accident recurrence was replacing all aluminium blanking plates by stainless steel plates. Moreover, the operator indicated that the number of pigs farmed had dropped from 29,000 in 2000 to 14,000.