From the Blanchardville Woman's Club

Blanchardville

To the editor:

The Blanchardville Woman's Club would like to thank the Sylvester Township Board and citizen Science and Large Livestock Committees, as well as the Monroe Clinic, the DNR and Green County Board of Supervisors for all the work you have done to research possible detrimental effects on the groundwater and environment that the proposed Pinnacle Dairy would have if built in Sylvester Township.

Thanks to the Sylvester Township Board for thoroughly researching and presenting the findings on the negative outcomes - both environmental and human - of the Pinnacle Dairy locating in Green County.

Thanks to the Monroe Clinic for sharing information about the negative health effects that are already being seen in the population of the county - in terms of asthma and respiratory diseases in dairy industry workers, and rare cancers in residents. The fact that our environment is already toxic for some is important to take into consideration as we weigh whether we should increase the pollution load on our soils and streams.

Thanks to the Department of Natural Resources and the Green County Board of Supervisors and Conservation Department for being responsive to public concerns and to the science and evidence presented by the Sylvester Township Science Team and Large-Scale Livestock Siting Committee (LSLSC).

We appreciate all the time you have taken to thoroughly evaluate this. Our club is very concerned about the negative long-term effects that this mega dairy, and others like it, might have on the groundwater and environment.

We want to see reasonable ordinances set up both at the local and county levels that fully protect the health and safety of our families from any negative long-term effects farms of this size could have on groundwater and environment.