Testimony concluded for Turkey Farm
Economic concerns and health and safety fears pervaded the public comments at the final conditional use hearing for a turkey farm operation by Barry Shirey at 6359 Boyertown Pike, Douglassville.
Approximately 60 people attended the fifth hearing on June 16 to hear final testimony from two engineers.
Several of Shirey’s neighbors -- who are adjacent property owners and who are opposed to the turkey farm, also presented to the Amity Township Board of Supervisors a letter dated May 25 from John Hopkins University -- Center for a Livable Future, which indicates the health impacts of industrial poultry production.
The letter states that the impacts could range from infections from the transmission of harmful pathogens and microorganisms, health affects such as asthma, bronchitis, and al-
lergic reactions, to thyroid problems, neurological impairments, cancer, and liver damage, which “could be caused by ground or surface water contaminated by manure from a poultry operation.”
The size and other specifications of an “industrial poultry production,” as indicated by John Hopkins Univ., were not identified or discussed during the hearing.
Shirey announced June 16 that he has sold his poultry operation in Snyder County; he and his son, Michael, would operate the turkey farm on the 75.68 acre site in Amity Township.
“I amnot willing to gamble with my daughter’s health,” said Shelli Brooks, 1833 Limekiln Road.
“If [you] ignore the expert testimony, and all this comes to pass -- or any of it -- if one kids gets sick, that is worth one million turkey farms.”
“I hope the [Amity Township] Board of Supervisors will read all the reports and protect the health, safety, and welfare of your residents,” said Brooks.
She said that a report from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), “says certainly that property values drop 85 percent. We could loose $100,000 value if we need to sell our house.”
Joseph Brewer, 6370 Boyertown Pike, said he lives across the street from the site of the proposed composter.
“I have lived here for 57 years, and I hope to die here of natural causes, not from turkey dust,” said Brewer, adding, “I consider this project a factory.”
“I’m also concerned about property values. The property valuation drop will be considerable. Then the only alternative will be to raise taxes. I urge you all to vote against this.”
the Board of Supervisor said they will render a decision by Aug. 30.
The decision involves approving or denying the turkey farm operation as it was submitted to the township.
Board members could also impose “conditions,” such as the best management practices recommended by the six “expert” witnesses during five conditional use hearings.
Atty. Steven D. Buck, Stevens & Lee, Reading, representing several adjacent property owners, and Atty. Mark Koch, Koch & Koch, Reading, presented their last two expert witnesses at the June 16 hearing.
Travis Fox, project man- ager at Larson Design Group, Reading, said the site -- zoned for intensive agricultural use — isn’t appropriate for the turkey farm.
“The land’s three to one slope [at the two, 63 by 700foot turkey houses] toward the Monocacy Creek tributary, makes it difficult to provide appropriate storm water [controls],” said Fox.
“There is always a concern for runoff, which could hold pollutants.”
He said the high water table‘s “limiting zones” prevent a two-foot buffer for pollutants, and the “hot spot” areas would not allow infiltration of ground water, which would affect the ground water table.
Fox recommended that Shirey install a monitoring well, move the two turkey houses closer to the road, and install riparian buffers (with plants, shrubs, and trees).
He replied to Supervisor Terry L Jones that he did not know that intensive agricultural uses are a primary purpose in the Rural Conservation (RC) zone.
Thomas Brown, who lives on Limekiln Road, and adjacent to Shirey’s property, said that the goal of Penn- sylvania’s Right to Farm Act is to improve, encourage, and protect agriculture.
Carl Brown, of F. M. Brown’s Sons, Inc., Birdsboro, said the highest number of operations like this is in Lancaster, also the location of the area’s highest property values.
“There are some situations where it has affected people’s health, but also where it hasn’t. The Wegman brothers had turkey operations in Exeter Township, and that didn’t change any property values. Give this a chance, it will work out,” said Brown.
“It doesn’t sound like agriculture,” said Melissa Ruffner, 350 Monocacy Hill Road.
“Building something and putting an animal in it doesn’t make it agriculture. I don’t see the benefit of it to any of us.”
Melody Kemp, 2119 Limekiln Road, repeated her statement from the first hearing on March 30: that she is concerned the turkey farm will worsen her and her son’s asthma.
Maria Payan, a local consultant with Socially Responsible Agricultural Projects, based in Oregon, said her family dealt with health issues from a poultry farm.
“Health became an issue with everyone in the house,” said Payan, showing pictures of the sores on her son’s body after bathing at his home.
“You don’t know if wells contain pollutants, and if you don’t look, you don’t know.”
“My son tested for cancer. I urge you to think hard — from a perspective of someone who has been there and done that.”
Kathy Martin, a licensed professional engineer, civil engineer, and livestock waste management professional, employed by Martin Environmental Services, OK, said it is likely that Shirey underestimated the amount of manure that would be produced annually by the two turkey houses.
Shirey said each turkey house would produce 350 tons of manure each year.
He testified on April 19 that 19,200 birds would be raised in the two turkey houses, culminating in approximately 14,400 birds sold at the end of the 19week process.
Three-and-a-half flocks would be raised each year, and that the maximum number of live birds at one time would be 32,000.
Martin testified that Shirey said his estimate of 9,600 birds producing 2.46 million pounds is a lot less then her estimate of 10 million pounds of manure.
“Urine degrades to ammonia, you need to keep that down and bring fresh air in,” said Martin, adding, “Unloading manure from the barn, there will be a significant increase in dust and odors.”
She said the best management practices would be to use litter (which provides better water absorption and is also a good carbon source), keep the turkey houses clean (no spilled feed), and to plant a tree line close to the houses.
“The existing tree line isn’t sufficient -- it needs to be in proximity to the barns. The odors are at 60 to 80 feet from the barns, and you won’t get removal at 60 feet,” said Martin, adding that dissipation is 100 percent at a quarter mile.
She recommended that Shirey use biofiltration, a pollution control technique using living material to capture and biologically degrade pollutants.
Or, she said, he could use ammonia scrubbers -- air scrubbers built for poultry farms, which provide 30 to 50 percent removal.
“He has been composting wrong for 14 years, and now he knows,” said Martin.
Marcus Sadler, 6363 Boyertown Pike, lives across from the proposed site and is concerned that the turkey farm will adversely affect his business and the reputation of Magic Hill Farm.
“We take young horses, as babies, raise them to the age of three and train them to be show horses, pace horse, for the Olympics.”
“We had a fly problem, from the previous manure. It took 10 years to get rid of the flies. The flies follow the horses, they like to land on them -- on their eyes (for the moisture), and they cluster around the rectum. The horses run and run to get away, they get sweaty, but the flies like that moisture.”
“There almost no flies, but they aren’t a problem until they’re there.”
“When horses run and run, they lose muscle tone, and it isn’t good for them.”
Although the number of annual truckloads of manure was calculated and re-calculated by the board, Shirey attested that his calculation of 350 tons of manure, per house, per year is correct.
“I don’t know where Martin got her numbers. I know how many tons I’m producing, and I know from former [poultry] operations the amount produced.”
The board requested all attorneys to submit their findings of fact to the township by July 15.
Shirey’s attorney is Matthew H. Doll, Boyd & Karver, Boyertown.