Rural Neighbors of Proposed 1,600 Cow Dairy and
25 Million Gallon Manure Lagoon System Plan to Testify
for Environmental Review at MPCA Hearing

Decision to be Made at March 27 Meeting

The group will make its demands to the MPCA Citizens' Board, which ultimately decides whether or not the 1,600 cow dairy and 25 million gallon capacity manure lagoons should undergo an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). An EIS is an in-depth environmental review that examines probable environmental damage a project could cause and proposes alternatives to mitigate that damage. By law, the MPCA is required to perform an EIS if a project demonstrates the potential for significant negative environmental impacts.

This will be the second trip to the MPCA to testify on the issue for the group. At the MPCA Citizens' Board's first hearing on the issue Feb. 20 they heard details from the group of how the project will harm the environment and should undergo an EIS. The Citizens' Board directed MPCA staff to further investigate the group's concerns.

At the Feb. 20 hearing, the MPCA staff was recommending to the Citizen's Board that the group's request for an EIS be denied. Despite the group's testimony, MPCA staff have maintained their opposition to an EIS. Land Stewardship Project member Alice Oden, whose mother is the nearest neighbor to the site, was disappointed in the MPCA staff recommendation.

"MPCA staff are ignoring the science," she said. "A 25 million gallon lagoon system at that spot is going to pollute our water and is going to emit unsafe levels of hydrogen sulfide. But we are still counting on the Citizens' Board to do the right thing and order an EIS."

In December of last year, a Minnesota District Court Judge reversed the MPCA Citizens' Board approval of a large dairy and 7.3 million gallon manure lagoon in Fillmore County and ordered an EIS. That case was filed against the MPCA by 22 members of the Land Stewardship Project. In that case the judge ruled that the MPCA's decision not to order an EIS was 'arbitrary and capricious,' " Oden said. "We've demonstrated that this project will have significant negative environmental impacts—that's the standard that triggers an EIS. Not to order an EIS in this case would also be arbitrary and capricious."

The MPCA Board has limited the groups' testimony to 30 minutes for the March 27 hearing. The group will have presenters covering the legal, scientific and ethical reasons for an EIS.

Karna Peters, who has been retained as legal counsel by the group, will present the legal necessity for an EIS. Peters will testify that an EIS is necessary to address the threats to groundwater and air quality in the immediate area of the proposed feedlot and that Waseca County has a formula for devaluing neighboring property assessments in the vicinity of large feedlots. She is with the legal firm Peters and Peters, which has successfully challenged the MPCA's decision not to do an EIS on two other large feedlots. In both of those cases (Pope County Mothers vs. MPCA and Fillmore County Citizens' Concerned for Health vs. MPCA) the court reversed the MPCA decision and ordered an EIS.

Greg Raetz, a licensed environmental engineer, will summarize the science that demonstrates the significant negative environmental impacts the project will cause.

Alice Oden will present the ethical reasons for preparing an EIS, including how the project will negatively affect health and quality of life in her neighborhood.

Note to Media in the Waseca Area: Those traveling to the event by bus from Waseca will be available for interviews before boarding the bus to St. Paul on Tues., March 27 at 7:00 a.m. Call Margaret at 507-835-2188 to arrange an interview.

 ©Land Stewardship Project, 2001


back to the top

return to Press Releases index