The state is taking a Lyman composting operator back to court because of polluted runoff that is fouling a stream with slimy fungus.

Winterwood Farm faces a contempt of court hearing in Biddeford District Court April 18, according to the Attorney General's Office.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is taking the step after more than two years of off-and-on talks with the company's owner, Robert St. Onge.

Leachate from the wastes spilled into tributaries to Lords Brook in October 2005, and has been continually entering the stream system ever since, according to DEP officials.

Neighbors complained to the state again this spring, saying a white fungus that blooms in the presence of the runoff has spread more than a mile downstream from the compost piles.

The owner could not immediately be reached today.

A representative of Winterwood Farm said the company is in bankruptcy protection and is seeking a federal grant so it can make improvements and prevent the discharges.