Residents seeking charges against farmer

MASSENA — Residents on state Route 37C say their Thanksgiving plans were disrupted by a farmer who unlawfully sprayed liquid manure too close to their homes.

They are calling on town officials and local law enforcement officials to charge the farmer with violating a new town code passed at their insistence back in March. And at least one of them is threatening to sue both the farmer and the owner of the nearby field where the manure was sprayed.

James A. Farbotnik is calling on the town to "pursue this matter criminally." He said he plans to file a civil lawsuit as well. In a separate letter, Mr. Farbotnik characterizes the farmer's actions as a "hate crime."

Code Enforcement Officer Gregory C. Fregoe was served last week with complaints from at least two of the neighborhood families who originally accused a nearby farmer, Jacques A. Breault, of spreading liquid manure extremely close to their homes. They claimed he contaminated their wells, soiled their line-drying laundry and harmed their quality of life.

In separate letters sent to Mr. Fregoe, Sara L. Montoya and Mr. Farbotnik said that Nov. 18 and Nov. 21 a manure spreader from the Breault farm sprayed liquid manure on a field reportedly owned by Mike and Barbara Hewlett.

After measuring the distance between where the manure was being spread and their homes, the neighbors alleged the farmer had, on both occasions, broken a town code forbidding manure spreading within 500 feet of a residence or public contact area.

Ms. Montoya reportedly found the manure was spread 175- to 185-feet from the eastern side of her residence and 350 feet from the north side of the home in the T-shaped field.

Mr. Farbotnik alleged the manure had been spread within 300 feet of his residence, which is home to seven people.

"The spreading of liquid manure was illegal because it is a violation of the Massena Town Code section 4.4.4 (2)," Ms. Montoya wrote. "These illegal actions and this disgusting toxic smell with health hazards has caused great distress to me and my family for our Thanksgiving holiday plans. I want the person responsible cited and brought to court and ordered not to do this again."

The Town Council passed the manure-spreading law earlier this year after hearing complaints from the Farbotniks, the Montoyas and two other neighboring families about the situation near their homes.

While the St. Lawrence County Planning Board recommended the law prohibit spreading within 100 feet of homes to comply with existing state Agriculture and Markets laws, pressure from the neighbors convinced Town Council members to increase the distance to 500 feet.

After hearing of the alleged violations, Town Supervisor W. Gary Edwards said Mr. Fregoe was dispatched to investigate.

"That's the procedure," Mr. Edwards said. "He's been out there a couple of times now."

Mr. Fregoe could not be reached for comment.

Both Ms. Montoya and Mr. Farbotnik also called the state police on the issue and said in their letters that a report was filed with law enforcement about the violation.

State police said Monday they have not pursued the conflict further and have not issued any tickets or charges, noting that any violation that may have occurred would have been a violation of the town code, not of any criminal law.