A Wisconsin judge ruled Tuesday that state regulators can force factory farms to obtain permits before they discharge pollutants, ensuring protections continue to apply preemptively for lakes, streams and drinking water.
Calumet County Circuit Judge Carey Reed issued the decision from the bench in a lawsuit brought by factory farm lobbyists, finding the state Department of Natural Resources has clear legal authority to protect the state's waters.
“This ruling is critical because it preserves the DNR’s ability to address water pollution that can be caused by these facilities, at a time when many surface and groundwaters around the state are contaminated with animal waste," said Evan Feinauer, an attorney with environmental advocacy group Clean Wisconsin. "Allowing large dairies to sidestep oversight would have been catastrophic for water protection in our state.”
Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state’s largest business group, filed a lawsuit in Calumet County in May on behalf of the Wisconsin Dairy Alliance and the Venture Dairy Cooperative, two groups that lobby for factory farms.
The groups challenged the DNR's authority to impose mandates through factory farms' water pollution permits such as monitoring groundwater pollution levels, implementing manure management plans and limiting herd sizes. Last year the agency scaled back S&S Jerseyland Dairy’s request to expand from roughly 5,000 cows to 10,000 cows, allowing the operation to add only about 2,400 animals.
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Categories: Wisconsin, Livestock, Dairy Cattle