By Jan H. Kennedy
FPS correspondent
June 23, 2008

The release of whey from Minerva Cheese Factory June 16 killed more than 5,000 fish in Sandy Creek.

THe kill could cost the company and/or the village of Minerva up to $10,000 in restitution.

 Restitution is based on the number, size and type of fish killed, said Doug Miller of the Ohio Division of Wildlife Division III office in Summit County.
 "We'll be meeting with the company and village next (this) week to go over the details," Miller said. "We're still investigating, but the village may be liable for some of the restitution because the flow of whey through the waste water treatment plant may have lasted about 24 hours and no one caught it."

 The fish were found near the waste water treatment plant in Brown Township, southwest of the village.

 Restitution is based on the value of each fish, Miller said. The majority of fish killed were suckers and darters, a small, minnow-like fish. Depending on the size, darters have a value between 33 cents to $1. Suckers average about $2 each. Bass are worth from $1 to $20 each, but not a lot of bass were killed, Miller said. One Northern pike died, and it could bring up to $25.
 "I would guess the restitution would be somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000," Miller said.
 The discharge created no danger to human health, Miller said, because no toxins or chemicals were involved. The whey absorbs the oxygen in the water and the fish died due to low-dissolved oxygen levels. The suffocated fish were found lying on the banks, floating in the water or had already sunk to the bottom. Raccoons and other predators already had begun the clean-up, Miller said.

 The waste water treatment plant normally could process the amount of whey that came in, but only half of the plant was operating at the time. The village had shut down half of the plant to replace 360 air diffusers two weeks ago, and had returned that section to service, then shut down the other side last to replace the other 360 air diffusers, said Michael Settles, Ohio EPA spokesman. The village will receive a notice from EPA of a violation, but Settles doesn't anticipate any fines.

Settles said waste water treatment employees work only one shift daily, and that the discharge didn't reach the plant until evening. Workers found the problem when they came to work the next morning.

 " The village is bending over backwards cooperating with us and trying to take care of the problem," he said. "The main thrust of our work now is with the factory, checking our their pre-treatment protocol and making sure they aren't sending anything too nasty into the system. Still, the village has responsibility for what they send into the state's waters."

 A phone message seeking comment from cheese company President Phil Mueller was not returned.