10. MPCA was ‘arbitrary and capricious’ in approving feedlot expansion

Written By Devon Cupery

Issue: The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) issued a permit for a major expansion of a dairy cow feedlot that was opposed by the county, residents and environmental groups. In 2016, the Daley Farms of Lewiston was the largest dairy operation in Winona County, with approximately 1,700 dairy cows and calves. In 2017, it applied to the MPCA to expand its operation to 4,628 dairy cows and calves, a 170 percent increase. The farm is in Southeastern Minnesota’s karst region, where fertilizer runoff and manure pollution can reach aquifers that provide drinking water to well owners. The state limits the number of “animal units” on a farm, and the type and quantity of pollution the farm could release. The Daley Farm needed the MPCA to approve a major permit modification and Winona County to approve a variance.

MPCA’s shortcomings: The MPCA published an environmental assessment worksheet (EAW) for the feedlot expansion and received 615 public comments. Objections included that adding manure in an environmentally sensitive area risked polluting groundwater that could reach private wells. People also had concerns that the additional cows would increase greenhouse gas emissions. The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) took the MPCA to court, requesting the agency do a more detailed environmental impact statement. In a worst-case scenario, a catastrophic failure of the manure-storage basin would cause millions of gallons of raw manure to enter ground and surface water, it said. Typically, courts give considerable deference to agency expertise. In this case, however, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled the MPCA’s permit was “arbitrary and capricious,” and it required the agency to write the EIS.

Links:

Devon Cupery
Previous

9. DNR Allowed Dangerous Dewatering
Next

11. State failed to address harms from pesticide drift in farm communities