Northeast Iowa Dairy Fined $38,000 for Manure Spill that Killed 126,000 Fish
A northeast Iowa dairy operation has agreed to pay more than $38,000 in a consent order with the Iowa DNR for a March 2025 manure spill that killed more than 126,000 fish.
In March 2025, DNR staff responded to calls of manure runoff from a Winneshiek County dairy into a tributary of Dry Run Creek and of dead fish in the creek. Staff determined there were elevated levels of ammonia in several miles of the creek, along with dead or dying fish.
During a subsequent conversation with owner Dale Humpal, DNR staff determined the spill was coming from the west side of Humpal’s operation of about 330 head of dairy cattle, where snow melt and a broken waterline caused more water to accumulate.
According to an Iowa Capital Dispatch report, Humpal requested the DNR look into the impact of runoff from other operations along the tributary. DNR staff sampled tile lines along the tributary, but environmental specialist Brett Meyers determined “there were no other contributors” to the spill that led to a “substantial number” of dead fish.
The DNR’s fisheries bureau valued the fish killed at over $30,000. Per the consent order, Humpal will pay more than $33,000 for the fish kill and investigative costs, as well as a $5,000 administrative fee by September 2027.
Humpal was previously fined $8,000 for a 2023 manure leak and, in 2017, he was asked to pay more than $15,000 after manure flowed off a hay field and killed about 35,000 fish.
