MONROE - A letter sent by Green County Conservationist Todd Jenson to the owner of Pinnacle Dairy LLC, a proposed 5,800-cow farm on 127 acres in Sylvester Township, was returned by the corporation's attorneys with a request for officials and engineers to meet at the site along County FF and Decatur-Sylvester Road on Thursday.
Jenson shared the information during a meeting of the Green County Land and Water Conservation Committee and provided an updated timeline on the project's progression since the first meeting in August 2015 to discuss the proposal between Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officials, Pinnacle representatives and county officials.
Members of the committee spoke Thursday about issues between Pinnacle engineers and stipulations outlined in the permit. The concentrated animal feeding operation, which is defined by the DNR as an operation with more than 1,000 animal units, was approved with conditions on April 6.
So far, workers have been able to meet the first condition by digging a trench and raising the site to ensure water does not seep in.
Jenson said technically the third condition has been met as well, but workers are having trouble with phase two, which is based on water elevation at the proposed site of the tiled manure pits. In July, he noted two monitoring wells were at an elevation too high to ever pass the second required phase and during a September committee meeting, he said water was collecting nearly 10 feet higher than the required amount to place tile in the manure storage lagoons.
Supervisor Kristi Leonard, a member of the conservation committee, spoke to the question of who would be at fault if the facility were to contaminate local water sources.
"It still comes back to the water table, that's the crux of it," Leonard said. "In my mind it's still not a perched table, the data shows it's not."
Conservation Technician Chris Newberry spoke about whether the water on site was disconnected from groundwater and said the engineers who have cited perched conditions likely "truncated the area" without defining the edges.
Jenson said the site likely has perched conditions in some areas, but once water hits a sand layer, "it bounces up and down" rather than remaining steady throughout the full acreage.
A public hearing was held by the DNR at Albany Lions Club on Sept. 15, asking for comments on the project. A letter was sent to Jenson on Oct. 3 outlining stipulations that no liners be installed at the site before the agency's conditions are met. That same day, he visited the site of Pinnacle and found concrete had been poured in the first pit, with the engineer on site explaining they thought that because the first condition was met, they could proceed.
Construction was halted, and Pinnacle engineer Ronnie Williams told Jenson the next day that DNR agents and Pinnacle attorneys were meeting the following day.
On Oct. 17, Jenson sent a letter to Pinnacle owner Todd Tuls outlining conditions and reminding him no construction could be done until conditions were met. He also requested levels from the monitoring wells, and upon visiting the site a week later, found more concrete had been poured. Tuls informed Jenson he had not received the letter, and Jenson told Tuls that county attorneys would be meeting and the work may be ordered to stop.
In early November, the county hired outside attorney Christa O. Westerberg of Madison-based firm Pines Bach, who specializes in environmental and land-use law.
Jenson received a letter in response from Pinnacle attorneys at the end of October, which requested a technical meeting between the corporation's engineers and officials from the DNR, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and the Natural Resources Conservation Service to discuss how to meet phase two. No attorneys should be present, he said.
A method to meet the second condition may require a water filtration system around the monitoring wells to funnel water away from the site and eventually runoff into nearby Searles Creek.
Jen Riemer of neighboring Riemer Family Farm noted that runoff will likely end up on neighbors' farmland because the creek "regularly overflows already." New Glarus resident Harry Pulliam expressed concerns over the site meeting water elevation requirements during a dry time of the year only to cause problems during the rainy season in April.
Williams has specified that the site is perched, and Jenson noted that even if he is employed by Pinnacle, if Williams were to lie, he would lose his license.
Pinnacle workers have ceased progress on the manure pits for the time being, Jenson said, because cold weather has arrived. He added that a few machines were still being run at the site Wednesday for work on the milking parlor and sand operation machine.
To inform the full county board, Jenson may address supervisors during Tuesday's meeting if his appearance can be added as an agenda item to the already released document. Committee members and three supervisors present at the committee meeting encouraged him to provide an update during both the December and January meetings.
Jenson shared the information during a meeting of the Green County Land and Water Conservation Committee and provided an updated timeline on the project's progression since the first meeting in August 2015 to discuss the proposal between Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officials, Pinnacle representatives and county officials.
Members of the committee spoke Thursday about issues between Pinnacle engineers and stipulations outlined in the permit. The concentrated animal feeding operation, which is defined by the DNR as an operation with more than 1,000 animal units, was approved with conditions on April 6.
So far, workers have been able to meet the first condition by digging a trench and raising the site to ensure water does not seep in.
Jenson said technically the third condition has been met as well, but workers are having trouble with phase two, which is based on water elevation at the proposed site of the tiled manure pits. In July, he noted two monitoring wells were at an elevation too high to ever pass the second required phase and during a September committee meeting, he said water was collecting nearly 10 feet higher than the required amount to place tile in the manure storage lagoons.
Supervisor Kristi Leonard, a member of the conservation committee, spoke to the question of who would be at fault if the facility were to contaminate local water sources.
"It still comes back to the water table, that's the crux of it," Leonard said. "In my mind it's still not a perched table, the data shows it's not."
Conservation Technician Chris Newberry spoke about whether the water on site was disconnected from groundwater and said the engineers who have cited perched conditions likely "truncated the area" without defining the edges.
Jenson said the site likely has perched conditions in some areas, but once water hits a sand layer, "it bounces up and down" rather than remaining steady throughout the full acreage.
A public hearing was held by the DNR at Albany Lions Club on Sept. 15, asking for comments on the project. A letter was sent to Jenson on Oct. 3 outlining stipulations that no liners be installed at the site before the agency's conditions are met. That same day, he visited the site of Pinnacle and found concrete had been poured in the first pit, with the engineer on site explaining they thought that because the first condition was met, they could proceed.
Construction was halted, and Pinnacle engineer Ronnie Williams told Jenson the next day that DNR agents and Pinnacle attorneys were meeting the following day.
On Oct. 17, Jenson sent a letter to Pinnacle owner Todd Tuls outlining conditions and reminding him no construction could be done until conditions were met. He also requested levels from the monitoring wells, and upon visiting the site a week later, found more concrete had been poured. Tuls informed Jenson he had not received the letter, and Jenson told Tuls that county attorneys would be meeting and the work may be ordered to stop.
In early November, the county hired outside attorney Christa O. Westerberg of Madison-based firm Pines Bach, who specializes in environmental and land-use law.
Jenson received a letter in response from Pinnacle attorneys at the end of October, which requested a technical meeting between the corporation's engineers and officials from the DNR, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and the Natural Resources Conservation Service to discuss how to meet phase two. No attorneys should be present, he said.
A method to meet the second condition may require a water filtration system around the monitoring wells to funnel water away from the site and eventually runoff into nearby Searles Creek.
Jen Riemer of neighboring Riemer Family Farm noted that runoff will likely end up on neighbors' farmland because the creek "regularly overflows already." New Glarus resident Harry Pulliam expressed concerns over the site meeting water elevation requirements during a dry time of the year only to cause problems during the rainy season in April.
Williams has specified that the site is perched, and Jenson noted that even if he is employed by Pinnacle, if Williams were to lie, he would lose his license.
Pinnacle workers have ceased progress on the manure pits for the time being, Jenson said, because cold weather has arrived. He added that a few machines were still being run at the site Wednesday for work on the milking parlor and sand operation machine.
To inform the full county board, Jenson may address supervisors during Tuesday's meeting if his appearance can be added as an agenda item to the already released document. Committee members and three supervisors present at the committee meeting encouraged him to provide an update during both the December and January meetings.