JUDA - The Grande Cheese Company (Grande) and the Wisconsin Environmental Law Advocates (WELA) announced in a joint press release Wednesday that they have entered into an agreement that will benefit the Lower Sugar River Watershed.
Under the agreement, Grande will provide $20,000 to the Green County Land Conservation Department to fund non-point source pollution abatement efforts in the watershed.
The agreement resolves WELA's legal challenges to Grande's Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permit, issued in July 2006 by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Green County Conservationist Todd Jenson said the agreement stipulates that the $20,000 must be used strictly for writing a nutrient management plan for the watershed.
"We've never had one (a plan) for the Lower Sugar River before," Jenson said.
The plans are written by professional crop advisors certified by the Department of Agriculture. Jenson said the cost for developing a plan is determined by the acre.
The $20,000 for the Lower Sugar River Watershed will pay for about 715 acres, Jenson estimated, or about 1.12 square miles.
In June 2007, Grande began operation of its new wastewater treatment system, designed to meet the terms of its WPDES permit and to reduce the phosphorous, total suspended solids and biological oxygen demand content of the wastewater discharge from its Juda facility.
Grande's wastewater treatment facility is an active sludge oxidation ditch system, which uses a bio-phosphate (Bio-P) removal process. In the Bio-P process, specific bacteria accumulate large quantities of phosphorus in their cells. The bio-mass, with the bacteria, is separated from the treated water (effluent), which can then be released into the streams. The remaining solids have a high fertilizing value.
Under the agreement, Grande will provide $20,000 to the Green County Land Conservation Department to fund non-point source pollution abatement efforts in the watershed.
The agreement resolves WELA's legal challenges to Grande's Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permit, issued in July 2006 by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Green County Conservationist Todd Jenson said the agreement stipulates that the $20,000 must be used strictly for writing a nutrient management plan for the watershed.
"We've never had one (a plan) for the Lower Sugar River before," Jenson said.
The plans are written by professional crop advisors certified by the Department of Agriculture. Jenson said the cost for developing a plan is determined by the acre.
The $20,000 for the Lower Sugar River Watershed will pay for about 715 acres, Jenson estimated, or about 1.12 square miles.
In June 2007, Grande began operation of its new wastewater treatment system, designed to meet the terms of its WPDES permit and to reduce the phosphorous, total suspended solids and biological oxygen demand content of the wastewater discharge from its Juda facility.
Grande's wastewater treatment facility is an active sludge oxidation ditch system, which uses a bio-phosphate (Bio-P) removal process. In the Bio-P process, specific bacteria accumulate large quantities of phosphorus in their cells. The bio-mass, with the bacteria, is separated from the treated water (effluent), which can then be released into the streams. The remaining solids have a high fertilizing value.