Sludge Responsible for Cattle Deaths

http://www.augustachronicle.com/stories/062403/lat_sludge.shtml

JURY: AUGUSTA RESPONSIBLE FOR CATTLE DEATHS Web posted Tuesday, June 24,
2003
By Robert Pavey | Staff Writer Jurors concluded today that the city of Augusta's sewage sludge
was responsible for cattle deaths and property damage at a Burke Conty dairy farm.

But the victory for Boyceland Dairy and members of the Boyce family was bittersweet: jurors
awarded the family only $550,000 - a mere fraction of the $12.5 million in damages sought by
the plaintiffs. "We won the case, but lost the farm," said a tearful Carolyn Boyce, who hugged
her husband, Bill Boyce, and other family members after the verdict was delivered shortly before
noon. Jurors heard two weeks of testimony - mostly from the plaintiffs' witnesses - in the
Superior Court civil trial, then deliberated eight hours Monday without reaching a verdict. After
words of encouragement by Judge Carlisle Overstreet, who warned that failure to decide the
case would require a future retrial, the panel resumed their deliberations at 10 a.m. An hour
later, a note was delivered to the bailiff, who advised that a verdict had been reached. "We've
always known, all along, that we were right," Mr. Boyce said. "We didn't make this up. We know
exactly what happened to the cows." However, he added, the jury's finding for the plaintiffs in
the amount of $550,000 was a disappointment. "We appreciate the jury and all they've done," he
said. "But the farm has been very much damaged. It will be hard to stay in business after all
that's gone on." The Boyces contended that the city's sewage sludge, applied to their land as
free fertilizer in the 1980s and 1990s, contained heavy metals that eventually contaminated feed
grown in their pastures. Those metals, they contended, weakened immune systems in cattle
from their dairy herd, contributing to what some witnesses described as "unprecedented"
mortality with no apparent cause. The city's defense team, which rested its case on Friday after
calling only two of its 10 witnesses, contended the problems were linked to poor management
by the Boyce family and common cow ailments, such as Johne's disease. Jim Ellison, who led
the city's defense in the case, did not say whether the city would appeal the verdict. --From the
Tuesday, June 24, 2003 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle