June 28, 2010MADISON — A south-central Wisconsin town overstepped when local officials imposed water quality conditions on a giant farm's permit, a state appeals court ruled last week.
Larson Acres Inc., had asked the Town of Magnolia in Rock County for permission to expand operations to 1,500 animal units, according to the opinion. A thousand animal units is equivalent to about 700 cows.
The town granted a permit but included conditions requiring the farm to minimize nutrient run-off and allow well water tests.
A state review board invalidated the conditions, but Rock County Circuit Judge James Welker upheld them.
The 4th District Court of Appeals reversed Welker. The court agreed with the review board that the town acted outside the process set out in state siting standards when it applied the conditions.
Larson Acres attorney Eric McLeod said the decision reaffirms state standards trump local regulations, adding state standards lend predictability to the permit process.
Town attorney Glenn Reynolds called the decision "very disappointing." He said the appeals court ignored the need for clean water.
Peter McKeever, an attorney for neighbors who sued in support of the town, says the decision leaves residents at the mercy of industrialized farms.
Source:
Green Bay Press Gazette
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