Cambria County Amish men vow not to pay outhouse fines

Two Amish men in Cambria County 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 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 that are emptied onto farm fields. Outhouses must 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.