WOODBINE - An Iowa Department of Natural Resources environmental specialist said it is likely Nebraska Pork Partners will face penalties for failing to report a manure leak that killed fish in Elk Creek near Woodbine in a timely manner.

"We consider fish kills a grave violation," Thad Nanfito said. "Most of what we do is protect people and the environment, so this is a pretty egregious incident."

Nanfito said the law requires reporting releases within six hours of their discovery or onset. According to the IDNR, the leak occurred between 7 and 9 a.m. Tuesday and was not reported until after 5 p.m. that day.

He said it is too soon to know how many and what kinds of fish were killed by the manure, which seeped from a broken underground pipe at the 20,000-head hog facility.

Tim Sproul, Harrison County Conservation director, said Elk Creek is not a fishing spot, but some residents were concerned about possible well water contamination.

"We got several calls asking about well water," he said.

Dan Olson, of the Atlantic DNR field office said the runoff should be confined to surface water and not affect underground wells. He said his office is not doing any well water sampling at this time.

Sproul said the creek is not in the Willow Lake drainage area, so the manure will not affect the popular recreation area.

A call to the Nebraska Pork Producer's Columbus, Neb. headquarters was not returned as of this morning.

Anyone with questions can contact the DNR Atlantic office at (712) 243-1934.