The following letter was sent to the DNR in response to the proposed Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permit for Rob-N-Cin Farm, WPDES Permit No. 0067409-01-0.
Dear Mr. Salscheider,
Thank you for the opportunity to weigh in on the proposed Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permit for Rob-N-Cin Farm, WPDES Permit No. 0067409-01-0.
The Sustain Rural Wisconsin Network (SRWN), a coalition of grassroots groups who promote responsible agriculture and protects our rural communities and watersheds from pollution and the impacts of industrial agriculture, is concerned about the WPDES permit for Rob-N-Cin Farm and submits the following comments and questions for your consideration.
1. Require Signed Landowner Agreements
There is precedence for requiring signed landowner agreements. In 2016, Bayfield County landowners who were listed on the Badgerwood CAFO NMP without their consent contacted the DNR and asked to be removed from the NMP. In a response dated December 16, 2016, Joe Baeten, Nutrient Management Plan Coordinator, sent a letter to Badgerwood CAFO with the following request:
“Pursuant to NR 243.14(1)(b), Wis. Adm. Code the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is requesting Badgerwood LLC submit with the revised nutrient management plan copies of all rental contracts and manure agreements. At a minimum, these contracts/agreements must clearly state:
1. Landowner’s Name,
2. Field names(s) by landowner,
3. Length of contract/agreement, and
4. Badgerwood LLC has permission to land apply manure.”
NR 243.14(1)(b) provides additional guidance re: DNR’s authority: “In cases where there is limited acreage available for application, the department may require that the permittee submit additional or more specific information, including verification that the permittee has permission to land apply manure on fields not owned by the permittee.”
The requirement for written and signed landowner agreements is critical to protecting public health and water quality. Given that manure production each year is guaranteed, having land to spread the manure is not guaranteed due to a variety of factors (landowners ending contracts, soil phosphorus levels too high, landowner death and land sold, etc.).
SRWN recommends that the DNR require signed landowner agreements. Given that Rob-N-Cin only owns 455 acres and rents the remaining 2,323 acres, it’s critical that the DNR has absolute certainty that Rob-N-Cin Farms has access to the fields they have listed on their NMP. Especially since they have plans to expand to 2,500 AUs during the permit term.
2. Require Enhanced Compliance Monitoring for the Permit Term
The efficacy of the WPDES permit is grounded in the assumption that the CAFO owner/operator respects the regulatory process/requirements and will be truthful and transparent -- since the majority of the WPDES program is self-regulating/self-reporting. In the case of Rob-N-Cin Farms, there are a number of reasons to question if they should be trusted to operate within the self-reporting framework of the WPDES program. For instance,
· They expanded their herd without seeking a WPDES permit and have been operating with over 1000 AUs for at least two years. The DNR sent a Notice of Noncompliance letter in August 2023.
· They have inadequate manure storage for their current herd size and are out of compliance with the 180-day storage capacity regulation.
· They are dumping manure at two satellite farms. These farms were not included in their WPDES permit application, in spite of the DNR’s issuance of conditional approval of their NMP in July 2024.
A groundwater susceptibility map for Ozaukee and Washington Counties prepared by the USGS (see the written comments from John Jansen, P.G. Ph.D.) illustrates that much of the area where Rob-N-Cin plans to spread their manure has a high susceptibility to groundwater contamination. They will be spreading 9.5 million gallons of raw manure this year and plan to nearly double that amount to 17 million gallons by 2028. Given the soil and hydrogeological conditions in the area, the danger to groundwater and the water quality and safety of private wells is alarming.
Further, a review of the restriction maps for the Ron-N-Cin NMP doesn’t provide any assurances that groundwater (or surface water) will be protected. Of the 200 fields listed in the NMP, 187 have some type of restriction, with the majority of fields having multiple restrictions. Given the high percentage of rented land and the multiple operators who will apply the manure, spreading the manure from the Ron-N-Cin Farm is a complex task. The risk of operator error is high and manure may end up in places that it doesn’t belong.
SRWN recommends a higher level of oversight and monitoring for this permit term by the DNR. We suggest that the DNR perform quarterly groundwater monitoring at the CAFO site and a minimum of three fields that are vulnerable to contamination, based on site geology and proximity to private wells. The public shall be given an opportunity to comment on the sampling locations chosen by the DNR. All spreading should be suspended and monitoring increased if the PAL for nitrate, coliform bacteria, or other manure related contaminants are exceeded. NMP must be revised to meet performance standards.
3. Complete the Environmental Analysis Questionnaire
The applicant did not complete the Environmental Analysis Questionnaire (EAQ) because they incorrectly answered ‘no’ to the all the screening questions on page 2. Given that Rob-N-Cin Farm is not a permitted CAFO and is ‘constructed on a site where no other animal feeding operation is located prior to this permit application’, they are a ‘new source CAFO’ and are required to fill out an EAQ. The DNR acknowledges that this is a ‘new source CAFO’ on page 2 of the Permit Fact Sheet with the following statement: “Due to this being the farm’s first WPDES permit, a substantial compliance determination in not needed to issue the permit.”
The EAQ form explains the importance of this questionnaire as follows:
‘The Environmental Analysis Questionnaire (EAQ) for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) is part of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) programmatic procedures for meeting the requirements of the Wisconsin Environmental Policy Act (WEPA).
WEPA requires state agencies to analyze, consider and publicly disclose the anticipated environmental and socioeconomic effects of certain agency actions. Under NR 150, this includes the issuance, reissuance, or modification of individual Wisconsin Pollution Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permits for new source CAFOs.
A completed EAQ is not a decision document. It is an important tool that is part of the DNR’s analysis and disclosure of the environmental and socioeconomic effects of proposed CAFOs and CAFO expansions.’
Given what has been shared previously re: the applicant’s lack of good faith efforts to operate within the law, the complex hydrogeology of the area, permeable soils, and the high number of private wells adjacent to the spreading fields – the EAQ is a critical component of the DNR’s analysis. The EAQ’s information will provide the data that will inform the DNR’s decision that further review is needed (Environmental Impact Report or Environmental Impact Statement) and/or additional restrictions as part of the WPDES permit issuance.
SRWN recommends that the EAQ be completed by the applicant immediately, in order to allow adequate time for DNR review and analysis of the data provided by the EAQ. The WPDES permit should not be issued until the DNR review and analysis of the EAQ is completed and is available to the public.
4. Publish Results of All Soil Tests Taken
The data in the table below was compiled from the Excel spreadsheet submitted with the Rob-N-Cin application materials titled, Rob-n-Cin_Soil Tests. The data from all the soil tests should be made public. Given what has been shared previously re: the applicant’s lack good faith efforts to operate within the law, the complex hydrogeology of the area, permeable soils, and the high number of private wells adjacent to the spreading fields – it’s important that all soil tests results be used to calculate the composite nutrient values that are used to ensure NMP accuracy and compliance.
SRWN recommends that the DNR requests the full set of soil test results from the fields listed below to verify that the composite nutrient values are accurate. Further, the full set of soil tests for the fields listed below will be uploaded to the Rob-N-Cin application materials for this WPDES permit on the DNR’s web port.
5. Impact to the Milwaukee River Basin Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Plan to Improve Water Quality
While the WPDES permit analysis and framework does not consider the impacts to surface water, the Rob-N-Cin Farm is sited within the Milwaukee River Basin TMDL and the addition of 17 million gallons of manure (by 2028) may pose a threat to the investments made to improve water quality. The TMDL program recognizes that nonpoint source pollution from CAFOs impacts surface water quality, as evidenced by the inclusion of a map of all CAFOs in the 2018 Milwaukee River Basin TMDL materials (Appendix B_CAFOFig_20160719.pdf). However, there is no mention of the Milwaukee River Basin TMDL or its impact on Rob-N-Cin’s nutrient management in the “Nutrient Management’ section on page 4 of the Permit Fact Sheet.
The 2022 Milwaukee River TMDL Update Decision Document did not change the TMDLs targets from the 2018 TMDL plan but did add 16 new waterbody segments with phosphorus, TSS, and bacteria impairments consistent with the 2018 TMDL. The Cedarburg Creek, which is adjacent or in close proximity to many of the fields listed in Rob-N-Cin’s NMP, was added with the pollutant source listed as “NPS (nonpoint source)” and pollutant as “TP (total phosphorus)”. Given that Bob Roden, owner of Rob-N-Cin Farms, sits on the board of Clean Farm Families, a farmer-led conservation group “working together to improve soil health and water quality”, it seems reasonable that the DNR work with the applicant to ensure their NMP considers impacts to the Milwaukee TMDL.
SRWN recommends the DNR, working with Bob Roden and Clean Farm Families, consider the impacts of Rob-N-Cin’s manure on the Milwaukee River TMDL and make necessary adjustments to the NMP to ensure Rob-N-Cin’s manure isn’t causing additional pollution in the Milwaukee River TMDL.
Thank you for your consideration,
Forest Janke, President of the Sustain Rural Wisconsin Network