Midwest Environmental Advocates is a nonprofit law center that combines the power of law with the resolve of communities facing environmental injustice to secure and protect the rights of all people to healthy water, land, and air.

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Defending the Authority of Local Governments to Regulate Large Livestock Operations

A growing number of local governments have enacted ordinances that regulate how large livestock operations (CAFOs) operate. In doing so, they are relying on powers embedded in the Wisconsin Constitution, as well as specific statutes granting authority to local governments to adopt stricter regulations to protect water quality.

Protecting Door County Water Resources from Agricultural Pollution

VICTORY! S & S Jerseyland Dairy had been seeking a permit to expand its herd to more than 10,000 cows, a plan that endangered public health and local water resources. After receiving feedback from local residents and a letter from MEA, the DNR revised the permit to limit future expansion to less than half of what the CAFO’s owners had proposed.

Developing New Environmental Safeguards for PFAS

MEA is actively participating in the development of state and federal environmental safeguards to protect Wisconsin residents from PFAS contamination.

Defending the Spills Law

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC), the state’s largest business lobbying group, is suing the DNR in an attempt to undermine Wisconsin’s Spills Law—a key environmental health protection that keeps Wisconsinites safe from exposure to hazardous substances. MEA is participating in the lawsuit to defend this key environmental health protection.

Protecting Drinking Water in Portage County

Portage County residents represented by MEA challenged a wastewater discharge permit issued to Gordondale Farms because the permit did not do enough to protect local drinking water. Our legal challenge led to a permit modification that required Gordondale to install groundwater monitoring wells near fields where the farm spreads large amounts of manure.

Enforcing the Public Records Law

MEA filed a legal action to compel Dr. Frederick Prehn, a member of the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board, to turn over text messages, emails, and all other communications related to his refusal to step down from the board after the expiration of his term.

Environmental Review of Enbridge Line 5

Enbridge Energy proposes building a new section of its Line 5 oil pipeline in northern Wisconsin. Pipeline construction poses significant risks to the region, while continued reliance on fossil fuels threatens public health, the environment, and the economy.

Lake Superior Water Bottling Proposal

A Bayfield County company's proposal to bottle and sell water from a private artesian well within Lake Superior’s watershed is facing strong opposition from local residents.

Updating Wisconsin's Livestock Facility Siting Law

A one-size-fits-all approach to licensing large livestock facilities isn’t working for rural communities, especially those facing real health threats of decreasing air quality, contamination of drinking wells, degraded streams from manure runoff, and increased truck traffic hauling manure to fields.

Kinnard Farms Water Pollution Discharge Permit

In 2021, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in favor of our clients and affirmed the authority of the DNR to protect rural drinking water by setting limits on herd size and requiring CAFOs to monitor groundwater where manure is spread. Following the ruling, the DNR issued a modified wastewater permit for Kinnard Farms. Kinnard responded by filing a legal challenge in April 2022. A group of neighbors represented by MEA intervened in the case and successfully negotiated a settlement in May 2023 requiring Kinnard Farms to stop spreading liquid manure.