The Wisconsin Department of Justice has filed charges against the owner of a Kewaunee County dairy operation, along with the manure hauler he hired to spread manure on the farm's land, and an agronomist who submitted a false report about that waste to the Department of Natural Resources.
According to the complaint, Johannes Wakker of Kewaunee hired Gregory Stodola in late 2019 to spread excess manure on his farm. Since the amount exceeded what Wakker's permit allowed, some of it discharged into tributaries leading to Lake Michigan with E. Coli bacteria readings as much as 100 times those that would result in the closure of a public beach.
Records show that Stodola created a document that grossly under reported the manure actually spread by over 1.9 million gallons. Stodola then gave the document to Wakker, who in turn gave it to defendant Benjamin Koss, a consultant hired by Wakker to file a required report about the manure spreading with DNR.
The incident has been investigated by the DNR prior to the charges.
Each of those involved with face an initial appearance in Kewaunee County Circuit Court for January 12.
Categories: Wisconsin, Government & Policy