A Calumet County judge ruled the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources can require factory farms to obtain permits before they discharge pollutants that could impact waterways.
Judge Carey Reed issued the decision in a lawsuit brought by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce on behalf of the Wisconsin Dairy Alliance and the Venture Dairy Cooperative, according to the Associated Press.
“This ruling is critical because it preserves the DNR’s ability to address water pollution that can be caused by these facilities, at a time when many surface and groundwaters around the state are contaminated with animal waste,” said Evan Feinauer, an attorney with environmental advocacy group Clean Wisconsin. “Allowing large dairies to sidestep oversight would have been catastrophic for water protection in our state.”
The groups challenged the DNR’s authority to impose mandates through factory farms’ water pollution permits, such as monitoring groundwater pollution levels, implementing manure management plans, and limiting herd sizes. Last year, the agency scaled back S&S Jerseyland Dairy’s request to expand from roughly 5,000 cows to 10,000 cows, allowing the operation to add only about 2,400 animals.
The plaintiffs alleged that federal courts in 2005 and 2011 struck down the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to require factory farms to obtain permits before they actually discharge contaminants into navigable waters. Therefore, the groups argued, the DNR’s requirement that factory farms obtain permits before the fact was also invalid because it now conflicted with federal law.
