For a four year period, this report chronicles approximately 1,000 spills or other pollution incidents at livestock feedlots in just ten states. Causes of pollution problems at feedlots vary from state to state, but the data here show that runoff from improper land application of manure and urine threatens our waterways. Spills from lagoons, equipment failures, and purposeful dumping also plague large feedlots. Fish and wildlife are killed when feedlots pollute our water sources. One indicator of water quality is how well fisheries are supported in a waterbody.
Fish kills demonstrate poor ecosystem health.
The state stories in chapters four through thirteen document over 200 manure-related fish kills. These pollution problems killed over 13 million fish. These numbers are alarming in themselves, but they represent a gross under-estimate of the actual fish killed since many states don't collect fish kill information or don't collect it in a manner that allows the public to know what caused the fish kill. The effects of livestock feedlot pollution are cumulative and regional. The cumulative impacts of many smaller spills can degrade water quality and ecosystem health as severely as one massive spill.