WCPO 9's Jackie Bauer covers Warren County. If you have a story that you'd like Jackie to look into or a news tip, email her at Jackie@WCPO.com.
WARREN COUNTY, Ohio — The Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District has issued a third formal notice of deficiency to the Warren County Agricultural Society, citing ongoing violations related to manure runoff and improper waste storage at the Warren County Fairgrounds.
A 14-page report details nearly a year and a half of failed inspections and missed deadlines after several concrete manure storage bunkers were left uncovered near stormwater catch basins.
The notice cites violations of two Ohio Administrative Code rules related to manure runoff and improper waste storage that have not been met after multiple plans were not put into action.
As recently as May 20, investigators said they found manure still stockpiled in uncovered bunkers, dumpsters still uncovered and pooling discolored water near manure piles, allowing manure-contaminated runoff to continue to enter a nearby stream when it rains.
WATCH: Warren County fairgrounds cited again for manure runoff violations
WCPO spoke with Warren County Commissioner Tom Grossmann last week about other code violations at the fairgrounds.
"Anything that is not with the code if there's problems with manure, and that was another big complaint," Grossmann said.
Grossmann said he hopes to work with the Warren County Agricultural Society to bring the fairgrounds back into compliance.
"Fairgrounds in this historic location should be maintained in perpetuity. We should help maintain it. We should spend public money to maintain it, and we should require the agricultural society to be as responsible as possible and to do a good job in stewardship of this property," Grossmann said.
The Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District declined to comment.
The agricultural society has until July 1 to prevent the problem from recurring and until August to put a plan for a new manure storage facility in place.
One fair board member out at the grounds ahead of a special board meeting Wednesday said the findings were minimal and that the board called the meeting to address the ongoing issues.
He said all board members are volunteers.
Garrett Guard, volunteer executive board director for the Warren County Agricultural Society, said board members are working hard to improve the grounds.
"There's been some neglect around here, and there's a lot of things need repaired and there's a lot of a lot of things that need to be fixed," Guard said. "Nobody denies that, but at the same time we're working on it and we're working on it harder than any prior board in the last 15 years has done."
The Warren County Fair is still scheduled from July 20 through July 25.
Have a story idea or tip for WCPO 9 Warren County reporter Jackie Bauer? Email her at Jackie@WCPO.com.
