Rogue Amish outhouses

The rigidly archaic Swartzentruber Amish sect butts heads with authorities over decidedly old-school sanitation methods.

Mon, Jun 15 2009 at 2:04 AM

Related Topics:

Farming & Agriculture, Waste

After reporting on the case of Bob Dylan’s malodorous Malibu porta-potty, I thought I had unusual sanitation stories pretty much covered. I was wrong.

The New York Times recently reported on a fascinating story that’s unraveling in rural Cambria County in Pennsylvania. Like the Bob Dylan scandal, this story also involves mismanaged sanitation. But instead of folk-singing celebrities, the culprits in this case are the members of a radically conservative Amish sect.

But wait … aren’t all Amish radically conservative (super-religious, horse-drawn buggies, bonnets, non-existent carbon footprints, et cetera)? The Swartzentruber Amish in Pennsylvania, a community of 20 families, are so conservative that they broke off from other uber-traditional Amish sects for becoming too modern. One particular trapping of modernity that the Swartzentruber Amish have eschewed — and there are many — has landed sect elders in hot water (and in jail): 21st century sanitation.

Essentially, three landowners in the Swartzentruber sect refuse to upgrade outhouses on their land, defying state sanitation codes. One elder (Mr. Swartzentruber himself) has already served 90 days in the Cambria Country prison, and others members could potentially end up in the slammer if they fail to comply.

According to the NYT, the Swartzentruber Amish have been butting heads with authorities, including the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, over sewage since 2006 when it was discovered that human waste was being collected in an overflowing metal drum under an outhouse that serviced the sect schoolhouse; this waste was dumped, untreated, into fields.

The sect did agree to install larger barrels and treat the waste with lime, but more violations have been issued due to the (polite) refusal to take further steps to modernize residential outhouses and make additional improvements on the schoolhouse outhouses.

Says sect member Andy Miller: “They’re enforcing stuff that’s against our religion.”

Says Bernard E. Dumm, a local business owner: “The rules should be the same for everybody. Besides, it’s not about religion. They just don’t want to follow the rules.”

Interesting stuff. I ask you this: should the law — in this case, vital state sewage ordinances — be waived for religious rights?

I commend the Amish for their unwavering conviction and for living truly eco-friendly lifestyles (by default, I suppose). However, I draw the line at overflowing waste barrels. No cars, electricity, or, umm, buttons, is one thing, but I think the Swartzentruber Amish of Cambria County should budge just this once.

Via [The New York Times]

Photo: Doc macaSTAT

(MNN homepage photo: thevinman/iStockphoto)

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Comments: 9

Land Lubber Jun 19 2009 at 2:05 AM

I have heard that the the Amish pick what technology they permit their congregation to use, based on the potential threat that the use of the technology would tempt congregation member to move away from the congregation. With that in mind, how would using updated sanitation threaten threaten the congregation. Oh yea, the way the author described this particular congregation, it sounds like they may be more interested in appearing more Amish than the congregations next to them. Landfills generally

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are sealed, pit toilets aren't. A sealed pit toilet means the waste is intended to be remove for further treatment elsewhere. Comparing disposal diapers in a land fill to waste in a pit toilet is comparing apples to oranges. Seems safe to assume that the waste from these pit toilets isn't scheduled to be remove for treatment elsewhere, so we historically know they pose a health hazard. Like any person of faith the rights of this particular congregation end, where the right of others begin. In other words there neighbors aren't required to put up with their crap

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MotherLodeBeth Jun 18 2009 at 6:17 PM

Agree with Glenn that people need to read the Humanure Handbook. More and more people around Lake Tahoe are installing composting toilets. Interesting that out houses are considered by some health departments etc as a no no, but millions of disposable diapers are dumped in landfills daily and they dont care.

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Glenn Jun 18 2009 at 4:12 PM

I'd suggest the Humanure Handbook for these people. Seems like the results should satisfy all parties. We've been using this method for 5 years. Our garden is flourishing and we and our guests are all perfectly healthy.

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Lancastrian Jun 18 2009 at 4:00 PM

There are plenty of vacation cabins, etc. that utilize composting toilets rather than plumbing. It seems to me that these Amish could make very minor changes to compost this waste rather than dumping it untreated onto fields. Am I wrong?

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Guest Jun 22 2009 at 7:36 PM

The age old dilemma takes affect here. That is the fact that after round two or three of ANY argument, the original dispute gets fogged over and now it’s WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN! THE AMISH DON’T UP. If I’m not mistaken the reason the Amish live in this area is because they were being forced to use SMV emblems (slow moving vehicle) where they were before and they packed up and moved here. Yes, you are right, it would only take a little compromise and things would all fall into place. The composting

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option is a very good one. However, if most of the “English” people are composting, that would make it “worldly” and the Amish would go to hell if they do as the world does. There concept of right and wrong is not based on God’s standards but on THERE standards. I used to be Amish and I have found that to live by God’s standards is a lot harder than it was to live by the Amish standard.

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Christoph Wuth Jun 17 2009 at 5:34 PM

I used to live in a farm in the tropics whithout any running water. All excrement from the outhouse was collected in a large underground septic pool beneath. After several years, after the septic pool had filled up, a new one was dug several feet away and the outhouse was placed over it. Further, all organic waste was turned into compost after it was thrown in a pit specifically dug for that purpose. Most bottles were washed and reused. I find it is idiotic and completely out of proportion when

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fine people such as the Amish are pursued and punished for "sanitary reasons", while on the other hand millions of city dwellers throw all kinds of non-degradable packing materials in city dumps or in streams and oceans.

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Rebekah Jun 16 2009 at 12:06 PM

A while back MNN published an article eschewing the virtues of Amish sustainability. Living sandwiched between Amish farms, I felt compelled to point out some common misconceptions about the Amish way of life. Below is a copy of my previous comments on the subject. I live in the middle of an Amish community in Indiana. You might want to take a closer look at those Amish farms. The Amish tend to be highly dependent on kerosene. They use it in their lanterns, cook stoves, in generators which supply

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powder to their milk houses, and kerosene powered refrigerators. In addition to kerosene, many of them purchase coal to supplement wood in their stoves. They produce much of the same waste as any average US citizen. They hire van drivers to transport them distances that are not practical to travel by horse and buggy. My Amish neighbors very often burn their waste (plastics and rubber included) in huge piles behind their barn, which send plumes of thick black smoke across the sky. Oh, and did I happen to mention that they spread their outhouse waste in the surrounding fields, despite local health codes? And pile dead livestock in open pits to be buried later? The Amish in my local community never go to school past the 8th grade, and have no real concept of the damage their habits are doing to the local environment. Because they are a religious community, local government is afraid to touch them, and so the cycle continues. Don't get me wrong. I get along with my Amish neighbors, and they are some of the nicest, most upstanding citizens that you will ever meet. However, I think it's a mistake to romanticize their way of life. It's not without shortcomings.

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Guest Jun 15 2009 at 8:07 PM

The interesting thing about the Amish is that they (the Amish Bishops) decide what they feel is religiously unacceptable. (not God) They then teach that going against the rules will be punished in hell. So, who is there god?
I don’t think that God is going to punish the Amish for breaking the rules because he has no authority in their creation. He only has authority over his own creation.