The Pierce County Land Conservation Committee may have approved sending a temporary six-month livestock expansion moratorium to the Pierce County Board last month, but on July 25, the ordinance draft …
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The Pierce County Land Conservation Committee may have approved sending a temporary six-month livestock expansion moratorium to the Pierce County Board last month, but on July 25, the ordinance draft failed in a 2-3 vote, leaving it dead in the water.
“The failure of the motion during the Land Conservation Committee meeting means that the moratorium will not be forwarded to the County Board of Supervisors,” confirmed Land Conservation Director Rod Webb. “At this time, I am not aware of any other county committees that are planning to discuss this topic.”
At the June 27 LCC meeting, members voted 3-2 (Mel Pittman, Sheila Lorentz, Dean Bergseng in favor; Dan Puhrmann and Chair Jerry Kosin opposed) to recommend to the Pierce County Board that a temporary livestock expansion moratorium be established.
The moratorium, according to the draft language that didn’t pass, would have allowed the county to investigate the impacts of large-scale livestock facilities (CAFOs) on groundwater, surface water and air quality. It would have given the county time to review current ordinances and study, review, consider and determine whether amending existing ordinances and/or creating a livestock facilities licensing ordinance or others is required to protect the public health, safety and welfare of residents, along with land quality, air and water resources. It was also meant to allow the county to determine whether it has adequate staff and resources to administer and enforce any new or existing ordinances applicable to livestock facilities.
After last month’s vote, County Board Chair Jon Aubart asked the committee to approve the ordinance’s specific language, modeled after Dunn County. It would have put a pause on any resident or farm wishing to construct a new livestock facility or adding onto one for greater than 1,000 animal units.
However, Pittman changed his mind this vote around and voted against the ordinance language, along with Kosin and Puhrmann. He cited his continued research for the turnaround and the fact that high nitrates in water can be caused by multiple sources, as evidenced by contaminated Well No. 3 in Prescott, where no CAFOs are located. However, he urged the committee to go ahead with its plan to create a Groundwater Advisory Committee, recommending a UW-River Falls professor to be named to it.
“I voted yes (in June) because I wanted the people to have their voices heard. It was a difficult vote for me because I see the other side of the equation,” Pittman said. “I believe at this time, to do this moratorium is not a good thing, but doing the groundwater study is a good thing to do. The operations these citizens are concerned about, they’ve already been permitted. There’s nothing to stop them from moving forward. We can start on the groundwater advisory committee immediately, while the moratorium can’t start for another two months. And where do the citizens want to be at the end of the moratorium? The expectations might not be realistic.”
Webb confirmed that Ridge Breeze Dairy, located at W2686 390th Ave., Maiden Rock, has already applied for a waste storage facility permit and the county’s land management department has issued building permits for a dairy expansion. While the specific number of animal units is unknown, CEO of Breeze Dairy Group Gregg Wolf told the Town of Salem Plan Commission in June 2022 that it could be as many as 5,000 cows.
Maiden Rock Township resident Mary Anne Weiss, who is in favor of the moratorium, chastised Pittman for his change of heart.
“I hope a CAFO opens up next to you with 4,000 cows half a mile from your home,” she said. “I think it’s a travesty what you’re doing here. We’re asking for a pause, we’re not asking you to eliminate CAFOs at all. People have been betrayed by lack of county ordinances.”
Before the committee voted on the ordinance language, multiple people spoke from both sides during public comment.
Danny Akenson, a field organizer for GROWW (a nonprofit organization based in western Wisconsin committed to building power to create change through community action), encouraged the committee to stay the course and approve the moratorium language.
Paul Fetzer, CEO of Fetzer Farms, Elmwood, said the moratorium would accomplish nothing since laws are already written at the state level.
“We want to work with Rod and his office and the state collaboratively in trying to come up with ways to keep things safe and environmentally friendly as we move forward without dealing with the moratorium,” Fetzer said.
Chad Zuleger, director of government affairs for the Dairy Business Association, said a moratorium would deny farmers “a crucial avenue,” decreasing their ability to compete.
“Large scale livestock facilities can exist harmoniously and help preserve the rural character and tradition of an area,” Zuleger said. “They can keep large tracts of land in agriculture rather than being sold off for industrial and housing. A moratorium could stifle innovation and place Pierce County farmers as a disadvantage compared to other counties.”
Doug Weiss, a River Falls resident who owns a family farm with wife Nancy near Ridge Breeze, said a moratorium would allow the county to dig into data and find the source of the nitrates in Pierce County wells. Of 721 wells tested for nitrates from 2019-2022 in Pierce, 118 (16%) of them tested above the EPA health standards of 10 ppm nitrates.
Fetzer said he’s operated a CAFO for 20 years, and their four wells have tested safe.
“I want people to look at things from a different perspective,” Fetzer said. “I used to work for dairy farms up and down CC. A lot of those are gone now. Many are cash crops. We’ve taken alfalfa out of the rotation, and use commercial fertilizers … Dairy manure/nitrates is not the total problem. Taking alfalfa out of our rotations, chemically derived fertilizers, high rain events, more cash crop farms. I feel sorry for people who have had issues. But we do not have a problem on our farm. We need to look and figure out where these nitrates are coming from.”
Bergseng, a committee member and farmer, said he supported the moratorium because he wants to see improved farming practices that help the environment.
“I support family corporations. I do not support a mega dairy. That is a totally different ball game,” he said.
Lorentz was also still in support of the moratorium even though she “supports farming 100%.”
“It’s important to investigate the health impacts it’s having on people,” Lorentz said. “It’s way more important than economics. People’s health and life needs to be the priority. I have farming roots. I’m very concerned about the small farmer. I want to see small farmers preserved. It’s our responsibility to do whatever we can and to me that is to take a pause and investigate as thoroughly as possible. I think we are required to do that, when there are people’s lives who are at stake.”
Chair Kosin said he feels moratoriums should be used when someone has done something wrong. He asked if Ridge Breeze has had any violations.
GROWW Organizing Director Bill Hogseth, who was an online participant, provided the following DNR violations for Breeze Dairy Group, obtained through a public records request.
Doug Weiss asked Kosin to consider being proactive instead of reactive.
“Don’t wait until someone screws something up and does something wrong,” he cautioned.
Pittman argued that he is not walking away from his commitment to protect groundwater. He’s worried that too much energy will be focused on the moratorium, distracting the committee from what it should be doing: Focusing on the Groundwater Advisory Committee.
“We can’t stop Ridge Breeze from moving forward,” Pittman said. “They’ve got their permits to build manure storage and a livestock barn already. The moratorium will have no effect on them at this point in time, therefore the moratorium is more of a distraction to the Groundwater Advisory Committee.”
Webb added that Ridge Breeze submitted a second waste storage application to his department last week.
While the vote on the moratorium language failed 2-3, the committee voted unanimously to form a Groundwater Advisory Committee to look at all potential threats to groundwater and surface water quality and quantity in Pierce County. It will be up to Aubart to appoint members to the committee, most likely on the LCC’s recommendation, Webb said.
The next regularly scheduled LCC meeting is at 8:30 a.m. Aug. 22.
