Court halts expansion of big dairy operation

By Neil Rhines
Herald Times Reporter

MANITOWOC — A Manitowoc Circuit Court judge Thursday halted plans to expand a large dairy farm near Cleveland, citing inadequate environmental impact studies by the Department of Natural Resources.

Judge Darryl Deets sent an environmental assessment done last year by the DNR back to the agency. Deets ruled it was impossible for the DNR to say the expansion of Maple Leaf Dairy would not cause environmental problems. He said the agency hadn’t conducted specific impact studies on air and water quality.

Russ Tooley, president of Centerville CARES (Citizens for Air, River and Environmental Solutions), a grass roots organization formed in opposition to Maple Leaf Dairy’s expansion, filed suit in December. The suit sought court review of the DNR’s findings that the proposed expansion did not require an environmental impact study for the dairy to receive a Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit.

The farm owned by Tod Leiteritz is one of the largest dairy operations east of the Mississippi River at 3,798 animals.

The farm had requested and received DNR approval to consolidate with several satellite farms to a new location near its present base at 6832 County Highway X, adjacent to Interstate 43 north of Cleveland.

Plans called for construction of a manure-handling facility, feed storage and a barn at the new site, and a herd increase to about 4,000 animals.

The previous permit, which expired on June 30, 2002, allowed the farm to continue operating, and was amended to accommodate the change in herd size, according to the DNR.

A permit application signed by Leiteritz and received by the DNR on Dec. 21, 2001, had indicated plans were to grow to about 9,000 animals. Leiteritz later changed his mind, and told the HTR in July 2003 he had scaled back his plans, and anticipated operating with 4,500 animals.

Centerville CARES attorney Andrew Hanson said the DNR knew that increasing and consolidating the herd size could increase air pollutants like dust, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide from the manure. Maple Leaf Dairy has never been penalized for pollution, but the DNR knew the dairy was in the watershed of Point and Fischer creeks, which were experiencing pollution problems.

Hanson said the DNR failed to study how to mitigate these problems, and couldn’t know how to address them, or know if Maple Leaf’s plans would cause more problems, because the DNR hadn’t studied this site specifically.

Representing the DNR, Assistant Attorney General Christopher Blythe said although many people would prefer the agency do more, the DNR permit was issued in accordance with the law. He said the agency considered public comment and strengthened the original WPDES permit.

Blythe said the agency does not have the personnel or resources to look into each individual site, but said that is why state statutes give deference to the agency’s expertise.

Attorney Timm Speerschneider, representing Leiteritz, said “the department did its job; they fulfilled their obligations.”

If the DNR did not study the issues at the farm and didn’t want to use computer- generated models to examine the possibilities of pollution, how would the DNR know what is status quo, Deets asked Blythe.

Members of Centerville CARES, in a project funded by the DNR, conducted water sampling tests for E. coli and fecal coliform at 17 points on Point and Fischer creeks last summer. Hanson said the findings, which showed significant pollution in some parts, could help form a baseline of information. The DNR dismissed them as incomplete, and determined that an environmental impact statement would not be necessary before the results of the water tests were complete.

The decision by Deets does not require that an environmental impact study be completed, but that the DNR review their original findings and conduct research on possible air and water pollution at the farm.

The renewed WPDES permit would have begun on June 1. Speerschneider said the farm would continue operating under its old permit until a decision is reached by the state.

Neil Rhines: 920-686-2105 or Nrhines@htrnews.com

Comment on this Story * Required fields for verification

Your name*:

Your phone number:

Please include phone number for verification purposes if you want your comments considered for inclusion on our opinion page.

Your email address*:

Your city*:

Your comments*:

Your age*: The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) requires us to ask you the following question about your age.  If you have any questions about COPPA, please see our Terms of Service.

under 13 13-17 18-34 35-49 50-64 65 or older