Mud, manure a hazard for drivers
By Tom Gilchrist
Staff Writer
CARO — Mud and manure slurry deposited on Tuscola County roads by manure-hauling vehicles have caught the attention of Tuscola County Road Commission leaders, who questioned Sheriff Lee Teschendorf and Prosecutor Mark E. Reene about the topic Thursday.
“We just don’t want a death,” Julie Matuszak, a member of the board overseeing the Road Commission, told the sheriff and prosecutor.
Matuszak handed Reene and Teschendorf photos of an automobile that allegedly crested a hill and then struck a pile of mud and manure in recent weeks on McGregor Road near M-81 in Ellington Township.
“There was a large amount of mud that day, and manure or whatever,” Matuszak said. “I had a couple of complaints.”
Road Board member Mike Zwerk said the woman driving the car was lucky she didn’t lose control when striking the mixture on the road.
In October, Nelson Weaver — owner of Weaverland Farms of Sandusky — pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor after
See MANURE A7
prosecutors accused Weaverland Farms of operating a motor vehicle and spilling a load on a roadway on May 28. Tuscola County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Ryan Herford, the county weighmaster, video-recorded the scene following the spill on Hurds Corner and Dutcher roads. Herford described the situation as a “mess” in the report and wrote that a large amount of liquid manure was spilled at the intersection of the two roads.
The crime of operating a motor vehicle and spilling a load on a roadway carries a maximum sentence of 90 days in jail and a $500 fine. District Judge Kim David Glaspie didn’t send Weaver to jail, but ordered him to pay $325 in fines and costs. Paramount Dairy contracted with Weaverland Farms to haul the manure, according to police.
Road Board Chairman Jack Laurie told Reene and Teschendorf that Road Board members are trying to learn how to respond when mud or other substances end up on roads.
“Our role — if somebody calls and reports something on the highway — is to have to clean it off,” Laurie said. “And we’ve talked about how we handle that. Do we just run out, every time the phone rings, free of charge? Or do we charge somebody for sending a truck out and cleaning it off?
“Kind of a secondary question is ‘What are you going to do with this stuff that’s on the road? Are you going to scrape it into the ditch and restrict the flow in the ditch?’ We try to encourage at least the (sugar) beet haulers to scrape it back into the field.”
Laurie emphasized that “the vast majority of the (farmers) do a heck of a good job, but it’s like anything else — there are a few that are concerns.”
Road Board member Pat Sheridan added that “Ninety-nine percent of the people are doing everything they can.”
Matuszak is a retired motor carrier officer for the Michigan State Police.
“I know our department, years ago, would go out and tell everybody to ‘Clean it off, clean it off,’ and we’d remind them there was a million-dollar lawsuit in Saginaw County that somebody won — and the farmer paid — because of the mud in the roadway,” Matuszak said.
Road Board member Gary Parsell said he’s concerned about the speed of newer tractors.
“They’ve got these new tractors that run 35 miles an hour, hauling 70 tons of manure on a trailer backup,” Parsell said. “What kind of braking system do they have? Tractors aren’t designed to haul that much waste on them. Sooner or later — well, there have been a couple of them tip over now — I think that’s a real concern.”
One state law provides an exemption from prosecution when vehicles are hauling hay, straw, silage or residue from a farm product, or when hauling materials such as water used to preserve and handle agricultural products — as long as the substances escaping from the vehicle do not interfere with traffic. That law doesn’t mention mud or manure, though.
“The only out you have to deal with ag people is they have to prevent spillage, to some degree,” Teschendorf said.
“And not interfere with traffic,” Matuszak added.
Zwerk asked the sheriff about the Road Commission’s legal responsibility regarding muddy or manure-covered roads.
“If there’s an accident, is the Road Commission responsible and can they be sued if there’s an accident out there on that manure-covered road, and somebody’s killed?” Zwerk asked.
“I wouldn’t think so, but people sue people every day for whatever reason,” Teschendorf said.
“You have your distinction between who can be sued … but then who has liability?” Reene added. “And at that point in time, it would be a stretch to have the liability extend to the Road Commission.”
Most county farmers do a very good job of keeping roads free of mud and other substances, according to Matuszak.
“Our concern is that the manure haulers are contractors,” Matuszak said. “They contract. This is technically some type of a commercial-type business that these farmers are paying to haul (manure) out.”