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A six-mile trout stream in Maryland just lost roughly 11,000 fish, including brown trout, bass, river chub, and minnows, among others. The suspected cause? Cow poop from an upstream dairy farm.
Twenty-five species of fish going belly up were reported on Sept. 30 along Basin Run in Cecil County. Most of them settling on the river bottom rather than floating on top, according to one resident. The fish kill demonstrates why violating stream protections has real-world impacts on people and wildlife, at a time when the federal government continues to roll back Clean Water Act protections.
“I’ve never seen that many dead fish in that stream,” a Cecil County resident told the Cecil Daily. “I saw large fish, smallmouth bass, minnows. I saw eels. They’re a pretty strong species.”
Basin Run flows into Octoraro Creek, then the Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay. This isn’t the first kill in the creek. Ashley Bowley, founder of Protect Basin Run, is compiling state inspection reports in the area that are potentially caused by Kilby Farm. Kilby Farm has already been accused of discharging pollution, including manure, into Basin Run.
“This has been happening for years,” says Bowley, referring to those inspection reports.
The Maryland Department of the Environment is investigating the fish kill. The agency sent officials to the farm Sept. 30, but they were denied entry. They returned on Oct. 1 and 5 and were granted access both times.
The preliminary cause of the current fish kill is listed as pollution due to overflow from a manure lagoon. Previous allegations include fermented feed, milk, and manure piped toward the creek and improper disposal of dead cattle.
“These violations are unacceptable,” said Jay Apperson, Maryland Department of Environment spokesperson. “We are taking this issue very seriously and have already obtained a preliminary injunction from the court barring this facility from discharging pollution into the waterway.”
The public agency and private farm have a history that goes back several years. In 2018, the state awarded Kilby Farm $1.85 million through its Animal Waste Technology Fund. That money was to retrofit a digester that turns manure into biogas to generate electricity and heat for the operation. The farm, which has about 400 dairy cows, was again awarded grant money in 2021, part of a state grant to Sustainable Chesapeake paid for equipment to help the farm’s digester produce more heat in cold months. Then the relationship waned.
In August 2025, the farm reached a settlement with the state, paid a $50,000 penalty and agreed to stop discharging into the creek. The discharges continued, the state alleges, and it sued this spring. A judge ordered the farm to stop in June. A contempt hearing was held Oct. 13, the outcome of which was not available by press time.
Pennsylvania farmer Ben Flahart, along with his wife and another dairy-farming couple from Pennsylvania, bought Kilby Farm in 2017. They also deliver milk produced by their dairy cows through Kilby Cream. Last month, Flahart’s attorney told The Baltimore Banner the state is not accounting for a tributary that is polluted before it flows through the farm then into Basin Run.
Basin Run used to be stocked but is now considered a self-sustaining fishery known for brown trout. It is classified by the state as Class III-P, which means it’s cold enough to support wild trout. It’s also considered Tier II for high-quality water that comes with special protections against degradation.