Environmental groups challenge permit for Kewaunee County CAFO

Environmental groups are challenging a wastewater permit that was reissued to a large livestock farm in Kewaunee County, saying it fails to reduce the risk of nitrate contamination.

Midwest Environmental Advocates and the Environmental Law and Policy Center filed a petition Tuesday for a contested case hearing on the permit issued to Pagel’s Ponderosa, LLC. The organizations represent the Clean Water Action Council of Northeast Wisconsin, Friends of the Forestville Dam and a Kewaunee County resident who are concerned about the farm’s impact on drinking water and area waterways.

They want the Wisconsin State Division of Hearings and Appeals to review whether the permit issued by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reasonably protects state waters.

The DNR reissued the permit to the concentrated animal feeding operation, or CAFO, in August. Pagel’s operates three facilities that house 6,877 cows, 2,108 large and small heifers and 1,881 calves. The dairy CAFO generates more than 104 million gallons of manure each year that’s spread on more than 10,000 acres.

Groups say the DNR failed to include a cap on the maximum number of animals for the CAFO and did not require groundwater monitoring.

“Before the final permit was issued, many community members who participated in the DNR’s public hearing process expressed concerns about the impact of Pagels’ manure spreading practices on our groundwater and surface water. But the DNR ignored our concerns and approved the permit without any meaningful changes to protect our water resources,” said Christine Reid of Friends of the Forestville Dam in a statement.

A DNR spokesperson said it doesn’t comment on pending litigation. Pagel’s Ponderosa did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Groups say the DNR found the farm in substantial compliance with the permit despite numerous manure spills and the CAFO’s past history of over-applying manure. The agency said the farm has addressed violations.

The petition also argues the DNR failed to adequately review production sites and waste storage facilities that haven’t been evaluated in decades, claiming Pagel’s is unlawfully transferring manure to meet storage requirements. The DNR has said it’s requiring an engineering evaluation of a waste storage facility and others in the future, adding the CAFO is allowed to transfer manure to other permitted facilities.

Groups also contend the permit risks manure runoff by allowing spreading on tile-drained fields, which research has found can contribute to nutrient runoff. Groups say it’s also unclear whether the CAFO’s nutrient management would comply with efforts to reduce phosphorus pollution in lakeshore waters of northeastern Wisconsin. The agency said the operation is required to “more meticulously” manage phosphorus to avoid excess levels on fields.

“DNR’s decision to allow the CAFO to expand its herd size just doesn’t make sense given that Kewaunee County is already over-saturated with CAFO waste, as DNR well knows,” ELPC Staff Attorney Kathleen Garvey said in a statement.

The DNR has said it doesn’t bar expansion under its permit program, and the agency indicated there are no planned expansions of the CAFO’s herd within the next five years of the permit. However, a fact sheet on the farm’s permit included details on its plans to expand the herd in 2029.

The DNR has noted that fields where manure is spread have “high potential” for nutrient runoff into multiple waterways that are already impaired by phosphorus pollution, including the Kewaunee River, East Twin River and the Neshota River. 

Residents in Kewaunee County have struggled with nitrate contamination of private wells from agriculture for years. The region is susceptible to pollution from manure runoff due to thin soils and fractured bedrock that allow contamination to seep into groundwater more easily. The state passed standards restricting manure spreading in a 16-county area of northeastern Wisconsin to reduce the risk of manure seeping into groundwater.

Nitrates are the state’s most widespread contaminant and have been associated with birth defects, thyroid disease and colon cancer. Research has shown around 10 percent of private well samples in Wisconsin exceed the federal health standard for nitrates of 10 parts per million. Around 90 percent of nitrogen in groundwater can be traced back to agriculture.

CAFOs have pushed back against the agency’s attempts to impose permit conditions on their operations. Despite that, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that the DNR had authority to impose permit requirements on large farms to protect water quality.