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Rosendale Dairy:
MEA, along with the law firm Garvey McNeil, is assisting a group of local citizens opposed to this new factory farm navigate the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ complex permitting process and minimize the risk of environmental degradation. These citizens, who have organized the grassroots group “People Empowered Protect the Land (PEPL) of Rosendale,” include residents and landowners within a few miles of the dairy’s location who have seen the widespread destruction of the natural landscape that has already taken place at the site. The owners of the Dairy built the massive complex with abandon, ignoring DNR permitting requirements and using their lobbyists to try to influence the DNR’s environmental review process. PEPL of Rosendale is concerned that the factory farm’s manure storage and disposal practices, hazardous air emissions, groundwater withdrawals, and truck traffic will jeopardize their clean air and drinking water. The sheer scale of Rosendale Dairy is unprecedented in Wisconsin. The new factory farm will produce and store over 90 million gallons of manure and wastewater each year; only the cities of Milwaukee and Madison produce more biological waste. Yet unlike these municipalities, the dairy will store the untreated manure in open lagoons before spreading it – still untreated – on area cropland. Additional impacts from the dairy’s anticipated operations include:
Status: On October 14, 2008, MEA submitted written comments on the Environmental Assessment to the DNR, identifying numerous concerns and explaining why the EA is legally insufficient under the Wisconsin Environmental Policy Act. Thanks in part to these efforts and the outcry of concern from local community members, on November 17 the DNR decided to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement to address the risks of air and water pollution from Rosendale Dairy. This is the first time the DNR has prepared an EIS for a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO). On December 14, the DNR released the Draft EIS, along with a Draft Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) Permit, for Rosendale Dairy. The DNR held a public hearing in Ripon on January 22 that drew a large crowd of opponents and supporters of the dairy, and accepted public comments on both the EIS and Draft Permit through February 4. On behalf of PEPL of Rosendale, MEA and our colleagues at Garvey McNeil & McGillivray submitted detailed comments to the DNR, identifying numerous errors, omissions, and inconsistencies in both the EIS and Draft Permit. It is now incumbent upon the DNR to significantly revise the flawed EIS, and we expect the Draft Permit to either be denied or significantly modified, following further public involvement. MEA has also prepared a 2-page Summary of Comments highlighting the major flaws in the DNR’s Draft EIS and Permit. On April 28, 2009, MEA submitted a Petition for Review of the Rosendale Dairy WPDES Permit with the DNR on behalf of PEPL of Rosendale. In the Petition, PEPL alleges that DNR failed to comply with state law requiring that the WPDES Permit ensure compliance with water quality standards for pollutants like phosphorus and sediment and complies with an “antidegradation” review process designed to prevent unnecessary lowering of water quality. PEPL also asserts that the nutrient management plan submitted by Rosendale Dairy does not meet state standards because the dairy utterly failed to identify subsurface tile lines and other drainage devices that can channel pollution to surface and groundwater, and the plan also improperly allows for the land-spreading of manure on fields that have a very shallow depth to groundwater. DNR granted, in part, PEPL of Rosendale’s Petition and we expect to hold a contested case hearing in early 2010. Update: The contested case proceedings have been stayed pending the Supreme Court review of the DNR’s petition of the Court of Appeals decision in MEA’s Fort James case. Further action on the Rosendale Dairy WPDES permit is currently on hold. Citizens continue to monitor plans and Rosendale Dairy's operations.
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MEA's Petition and Request for Review of the Rosendale Dairy WPDES Permit DNR’s
Environmental Analysis on the Rosendale Dairy
MEA’s
Written Comments on the Environmental Assessment
Citizens File Appeal of Rosendale Dairy Permit New Factory Farm in Rosendale Threatens Significant Impact to the Environment |
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Group Wants Rosendale Dairy Permit Reconsidered Citizens Group Wants Rosendale Permit Reconsidered Local Activists Voice Concern Over Major Dairy Project Rosendale Dairy Gets DNR Go-Ahead DNR Okays Key Permit for Rosendale Dairy Expansion Project DNR Approves Expansion of Dairy Farm to 4,000 Head Expansion of Rosendale Dairy to 4,000 Cows OKed by DNR, Plans Call for Going to 8,000 Later DNR Clears Large Expansion of Dairy Farm DNR Approves Rosendale Dairy Wastewater Permit Taking Care of Cows Business Rosendale Dairy Denied Variance Rosendale Dairy Denied Variance Large Dairy Farm Faces Environmental Delays DNR Implements Tougher New Rules for Large Dairy Operation Rosendale Dairy Must Clear One More Hurdle Full Environmental Impact Study Required on Huge Cow Farm Dairy Group Object to Decision on Big Farm Near Rosendale Farmer Looks to Expand to 8,300 Cows Dairy Farm Stirs Debate Grass-Roots Group Fights Mega-Farm Operation Environmental Group Concerned About Proposed 8,000 Head Dairy Proposed Factory Farm Would Be Largest in Wisconsin Keep An Eye On This Nearby Rural Issue New Factory Farm in Rosendale Threatens Significant Impact to the Environment |
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