Oregon sued the farm in February, saying the spills endangered nearby drinking water wells Wochit Greg te Velde, the California dairyman operating a troubled mega-dairy in Oregon, has filed for bankruptcy, just one day before his cows were scheduled to be auctioned off in a bank foreclosure.
Oregon officials had been hoping the auction would put an end to ongoing pollution problems at the Boardman dairy, called Lost Valley Farm.
The bankruptcy affects hundreds of creditors, including Oregon’s Morrow County, to which te Velde owes $360,000 in back taxes.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture sued te Velde in February, saying the dairy was endangering nearby drinking water wells by repeatedly allowing liquid manure and wastewater to overflow storage lagoons.
That includes the bank foreclosure and multiple other lawsuits brought by creditors.
Oregon officials could not say whether it also prevents enforcement of the stipulated judgement.
Under the judgment, Oregon has the right to revoke the dairy’s wastewater permit if te Velde does not comply with its terms.
Since the lawsuit was settled, ODA inspectors have observed multiple violations of the dairy’s wastewater permit, including manure spills, Wym Matthews, who oversees dairies for the state, said earlier this month.
On April 12, Matthews said ODA had issued te Velde two “notices of noncompliance” since the settlement, and was working on issuing two more.
In his bankruptcy petition te Velde says he has 40,000 head of cattle between his Oregon dairy and two more he operates in Tipton and Corcoran, California.