Sierra Club and Izaak Walton League of America v. Jon De Farm, Inc.

Background: Despite having sporadically violated its federal Clean Water Act permit issued by the DNR for years, the Jon De Farm, Inc. mega-dairy had gone relatively un-sanctioned for allowing animal feed leachate and manure to runoff to the Rush River, a Class II Trout Stream and Exceptional Resource Water protected by state law. The water pollution from Jon De Farm, Inc. to the Rush River dates back to late 2000 and early 2001, with the most recent series of leachate discharges in April of 2002.

The St. Croix Valley Interstate Group of the Sierra Club and the Western Wisconsin Chapter of the Izaak League of America exhausted every avenue available to them, including notifying the DNR of manure runoff and using the media to expose the violations at Jon De Farm, Inc. Listed by Midwest Environmental Advocates as one of the most significant mega-dairy polluters in 2001, Jon De Farm, Inc. continued to operate despite evidence that its manure storage system was not designed to meet state and federal requirements.

As a last resort, the local groups of the Sierra Club and Izaak Walton League decided to retain Midwest Environmental Advocates and Garvey & Stoddard, SC to represent them in a potential Clean Water Act citizen suit to enforce Jon De Farm, Inc.’s permit. The Clean Water Act requires that citizen groups give an alleged permit violator at least 60 days to correct the problems that led to the pollution. If, after the 60-day waiting period the citizens have not received a response, the Clean Water Act allows the citizens group to file a lawsuit in federal court to compel the permit violator to prevent future discharges to our public waters.

On September 9, 2002, Midwest Environmental Advocates, Inc. sent the Sierra Club and Izaak Walton League’s 60-day Notice of Intent to sue Jon De Farm, Inc. for its violations of the federal Clean Water Act. The notice outlined thirteen distinct violations of the federal Clean Water Act and the likelihood of future violations if the facility did not make substantial changes to its manure and silage management practices.

Click here to read the notice letter.

Click here to read a press release on the issue.

listen to a Wisconsin Public Radio story on the issue.

On November 12, 2002 the Wisconsin Department of Justice filed a Clean Water Act lawsuit against the Jon De Farm, Inc. megadairy.

View press release.

The Sierra Club and Izaak Walton League praised the state’s move and decided to delay their federal lawsuit.

View press release.

Status: Because negotiations between the state and Jon De Farm, Inc. appeared to have stalled, and because of Sierra Club’s and Izaak Walton League’s concerns that there may still be additional manure spreading problems at the facility, MEA filed a motion on behalf of those two groups to intervene in the state’s suit against Jon De Farm, Inc. In June of 2003, the court decided that the Sierra Club and the Izaak Walton League could not formally participate in the lawsuit as parties. The groups will continue to support the State’s prosecution of this polluting livestock factory, but will not be parties to the lawsuit.