Unfortunately this farm has impacted our area in only a negative way with very little money returning to the local economy. This is a very specific example of a concept explained in the DVD and book The Corporation. Corporations, and in this case a business man, will always try to externalize costs. Rather than invest in a sewage treatment system, or even a simple holding tank, this project simply dumps all the fecal matter straight into the river, and in this case into the potable water supply.

And the crazy thing is that this farm could invest in a methane energy production system, which would sanitize the waste and produce energy that the farm could utilize in its dairy production, thereby increasing profits! IF too much energy or methane gas was produced the project could release the excess to the community in a number of ways. For example, donate methane for cooking to the local school kitchens.