Hastings, USA - Two Cambria County Amish men say they won't appeal fines for operating two unpermitted outhouses at a school, but say they won't pay the fines either. The men say government regulations about how to dispose of the waste violate the religious freedoms of their ultraconservative sect.
A district judge on Thursday fined Andy Swartzentruber and Sam Yoder $1,000 each and threatened them with jail if they don't pay.
County sewage officials say the outhouses illegally use buckets which are emptied onto farm fields. Law requires outhouses to have tanks that can be pumped clean so the waste can be disposed of properly.
County officials say state officials allow Amish in another area to use hydraulic pumps instead of electric, so as not to violate the sect's beliefs. But they say the Swartzentruber Amish have refused to cooperate with such an accommodation.