Shit Happens on White Oaks Road

Officials from the Code Enforcement, Public Works and Planning Departments are concerned that a large pile of horse manure and stable waste, apparently dumped on city property from a horse farm, may foul a brook and wetland in the Lake Winnipesaukee watershed.

Code Enforcement Officer Michelle Bonsteel, who toured the site last week, said that the manure pile, which she estimated to be at least ten feet high, was found on city property abutting White Oaks Farm after a neighbor complained to Doug Sargent, Director of Public Works. In June the city took title to a 25 acre tract that abuts the farm and stretches alongside a parcel owned by the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club, from the dead end of Fillmore Avenue to the Gilford town line. A stone wall, a section of which is buried beneath the manure, delineates the property line. The brook and wetland are clearly marked and designated on maps of the parcel.

Bonsteel yesterday issued a cease and desist order to Edward and Penelope Ciampa of White Oaks Farm, operating as Run N Jump, LLC. The order requires the removal of the manure, which according to the city code must be disposed of at locations determined by the Director of Public Works.

At the same time, the Planning Department has notified the Ciampas that the manure pile violates a zoning ordinance that requires all stable waste be kept at least 100 feet away from any property line. Moreover, in 1986 , when the Planning Board approved the application of the previous owners of the farm — the DeNigris Family, LLC — to expand the stable, it stipulated that "no adverse environmental impacts be allowed to occur from the waste storage area or from the spreading of manure on the property." The department has advised the Ciampas to remove the manure within 10 days or face a civil penalty of up to $275 for each day they remain in violation of the zoning ordinance and site plan.

Bonsteel said that the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES) has been advised of the situation. She indicated that the manure pile was well within the bounds of the buffer required to protect the brook and wetland. High concentrations of nitrates in manure, she explained, have severe and damaging effects on wetland environments. DES officials will accompany city officials when they visit the site today.