After months of debate and testimony at both Pierce County Board and Land Conservation Committee meetings, an inaugural Ad Hoc Groundwater Advisory Committee has been appointed.

County Board Chair Jon Aubart announced his picks for the committee at the Oct. 24 board meeting.

“Land Conservation has done a really wonderful job with this,” Aubart said. “I’m looking forward to the work this committee is going to provide.”

According to a county board memo, the land conservation and public health departments worked jointly for three years to provide well water testing opportunities to all Pierce County residents in order to determine groundwater quality conditions. The results showed approximately 16.4% of well water samples exceed the health standards for nitrate.

“Additionally, the Land Conservation Committee has received a significant amount of public input regarding the potential detrimental effects of large livestock facilities (CAFOs) on groundwater quality,” the memo states. “In order to properly assess groundwater threats and to determine if current ordinances and workplans are adequate, the LCC motioned to recommend creation of the Ad Hoc Groundwater Advisory Committee.”

The committee, advised by facilitator and LCC staff member Retta Isaacson, is comprised of nine Pierce County residents interested in groundwater quality and protection. Five members are citizens at large with one having expertise in a groundwater-related field, a private well owner not involved with production agriculture and at least two who are farmers: one in livestock production and the other in crop production. One member must be a county board supervisor, and three members must be representative from Pierce County-based environmental-focused non-governmental organizations.

Aubart read his list of appointments:

Teresa Brunner Davis, a member of GROWW, has been a Pierce County resident most of her life. She is a fifth generation Pierce County farmer and she and her husband own their family farm near Rock Elm. Davis has been working as a civil and environmental engineer for 15 years with experience in wastewater conveyance and treatment, pedestrian/bicycle trails, transportation/roadway design, and project management. She has experience as an engineering intern in groundwater monitoring and testing as well as construction inspection. Davis holds bachelor’s degrees in both civil engineering and environmental engineering and is a licensed professional engineer in Wisconsin and Minnesota. She is passionate about Pierce County and the residents for whom she deeply cares.

Missi Blue serves on the board of a locally founded and led non-profit organization called the Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance, whose mission is to protect and restore Lake Pepin’s water quality, habitat, public access, and recreation for everyone along the Mississippi River. This work requires a robust understanding of the tributaries in Minnesota and Wisconsin which outlet directly into Lake Pepin. More specifically, over the last several years they have been studying the water quality of these tributaries and how we can help improve their health. As a full-time resident of Pierce County and with a background in biological and ecological science, she can provide an important perspective that will offer practical solutions to protect our water resources and ensure our decision makers have the best available science and information needed to lead our community.

Rainbow Barry is a Pierce County resident living in River Falls. She holds a bachelor's degree in environmental studies with an emphasis in water resource management and a master's degree in secondary science education. Before becoming a public school teacher, Barry ran a horticultural business in Martell township providing vegetables and poultry products for farmer's market and Community Supported Agriculture subscriptions. She is committed to the health of citizens and wildlife, a sustainable agricultural economy, and the legacy of clean surface waters in Pierce County. As a board member of Kiap-TU-Wish Trout Unlimited she has access to numerous water resource experts interested in the outcomes of this advisory group, who can provide resources and recommendations to further the committee's research.

Chris Wacek-Driver and her husband own Valley Springs Trout Farm, LLC outside of Bay City. The water the farm utilizes is spring fed and thus they have a strong and vested interest in water quality. Currently water quality has been excellent and the trout have been flourishing. Additionally the farm is bordered by the Isabelle and they enjoy the wildlife the stream hosts along its banks and in the valley/county. I have a strong science background, hold a masters in nutrition and believe water is a precious resource that needs to be protected. We all need safe drinking water, to protect wildlife habitat, and to implement common sense plans for agriculture use and land management.

Paul Fetzer, a Waverly area CAFO operator, believes his 30 years of experience in farming and history of involvement in many things makes him a good candidate. He said he can keep an open mind and wants to deal solely with the facts.

Barbara Kolpin believes the best decisions are made when I/we actively and truly listen to all stakeholders and when I/we make decisions based on analysis of all the facts. She has utmost respect for and extensive experience working with regulatory agencies (OSHA, NIOSH, FDA, DHS) and interpreting, understanding and following their regulations - and is not intimidated or overwhelmed when slogging through data, details and conflicting information is required. She has both the experience to understand complex issues and the patience to work with others to hash out the best solutions using facts, while also being cognizant of the "here we are" realities of the situations.

Peter Carr is a retired epidemiologist living outside of Ellsworth. He most recently worked for the Minnesota Dept. of Health as the AIDS and STD Director. Carr serves on the Pierce County Board of Health and is a technical assistance provider for the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors Global Program.

Eric Soley is a sales agronomist with Ag Partners. He grew up on a beef and cash crop farm in Arkdale, Wis., which is just north of Wisconsin Dells. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls with a degree in ag education. For the last 12 years he has been an agronomist in western Wisconsin. He lives and farms in Elmwood with his wife and three kids.

Michael Kahlow is a Pierce County Board supervisor and has been a chemistry professor at UWRF for over 30 years.

“I think it’s a very talented group and I’m looking forward to what they report out to the Land Conservation Committee, and eventually, any recommendations would come here,” Aubart said.

The committee’s duties will be the following:

1. Provide valuable insight and recommendations to the board by applying local knowledge, review monitoring and technical data and discuss current and potential groundwater management activities.
2. Research, gather, analyze and synthesize scientific literature regarding all potential impacts on groundwater quality, including but not limited to, livestock facilities, row crop production systems, and municipal and industrial nutrient sources, specifically as it applies to Pierce County.
3. Identify areas where new regulations may be needed, where current regulations need to be modified, and where enforcement of current regulations is inadequate and are needed to protect groundwater as a resource for Pierce County residents
4. Propose solutions to mitigate problems and/or shortcomings identified in a report to the county board.

Other news

• The Rock Elm Board passed a resolution acknowledging the detrimental impacts of large livestock facilities and asked the county board to enact and enforce laws to protect the county’s groundwater.
• Aubart appointed Supervisor Rodney Gilles to fill former Supervisor Melissa Petersen’s term on the Industrial Development Committee, through April 2024.