Lawrence, Kan.-The general manager of a small fertilizer blending plant that has operated in Lawrence, Kan., for nearly 20 years is determined to fight federal water pollution control charges that could mean a $750,000 fine for both himself and the business and up to three years in prison. “When it’s all said and done I am confident that we will land on our feet,” said Raymond Sawyer, the head of MagnaGro International Inc., who has been indicted in federal court with unlawfully discharging waste from a fertilizer manufacturing operation into the Lawrence sewer system. According to press reports, the charges stem from an incident in which water from a waste pit surrounding a fertilizer mixing vat was pumped into a toilet stool. But Sawyer insists that his operations, which mainly involve blending water soluble fertilizers and organic products, never discharged bulk material into the city system. “We have always discharged our wash water or cleanup water but we have never blatantly discharged any mass amount or other material,” Sawyer said. “The city has taken water samples consistently and we have never been out of compliance. Anything that was problematical we saved and used it in another product.” In September 2007, EPA criminal investigation agents showed up with a search warrant. “Now I’m trying to sell each of the pieces and parts of the business,” Sawyer told Green Markets. “We’re winding down operations and won’t exist as of July.” Over the years, Sawyer has developed 56 different liquid blends, some of which he compares with Scott’s MiracleGro, and organic fertilizers along with specialty products including humic acid, calcium, and fermented molasses. He also used to buy urea for a starter fertilizer, which he supplied to crop producers. In the final analysis, he believes the city has bigger plans for the area where he’s been operating since 1990. “An operation like ours doesn’t fit into their plans,” he reasoned. “The city of Lawrence wants us out of there.” Since the federal charges were filed, Sawyer reported, the city “without any due process turned off our water and sewer, forcing us to haul in water.” For a time he hauled in water to fill a storage tank, but realized that he was now in a position where it would be a safety risk to continue operating. “I don’t believe we’re guilty of anything,” Sawyer maintains. His advice to others operating a “ma and pa” business is to “get expert help and stay out of trouble.”
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain