A Wisconsin community trying to block the development of a large dairy farm is pointing to groundwater problems near another large farm owned by the same company.
Wisconsin has more than 200 large farms known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. A firm wants to build another CAFO in Saratoga Township in Wood County. But Saratoga’s attorney, Paul Kent, said a CAFO owned by the same company just across the Wisconsin River in Juneau County has been landspreading liquid manure and polluted a well with nitrates at seven times the state standard.
“Our concerns for Saratoga are not just theoretical: They’re based on some real concerns from what we’re seeing across the river,” he said.
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Kent said the Department of Natural Resources should keep the high nitrate levels in Juneau County in mind when considering the permit for the facility in Wood County. The DNR said it’s aware of the groundwater problem in Juneau County and will meet with the farm’s owners.
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