Delivered via electronic mail

December 11, 2020

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary Preston Cole 101 South Webster St. P.O. Box 7921 Madison, WI 53707-7921 Preston.Cole@wisconsin.gov

RE: Support for Environmental Impact Statement Request for Roth Feeder Pigs Proposed Expansion

Secretary Cole:

We, the undersigned organizations, write to express our support for a request to prepare a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) before issuing a Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permit for a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) proposed by Roth Feeder Pig, Inc. The request was submitted to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on November 23, 2020 by Midwest Environmental Advocates on behalf of over 200 Crawford County residents.

The proposed facility, known as Roth Feeder Pig II, in combination with the nearby Roth Feeder Pig I, would together constitute the largest hog CAFO in the state of Wisconsin. The proposed facility alone would generate almost 10 million gallons of liquid manure every year. The liquid waste would be spread within an area that is characterized by extreme slopes, hundreds of miles of interconnected streams, and karst geology. These characteristics make the region uniquely vulnerable to groundwater and surface water contamination.

Moreover, the proposed facility would be constructed adjacent to the Kickapoo River Wildlife Area and Lower Wisconsin State Riverway. These are waterways and wetlands of continental and international importance that have been identified by the DNR as Conservation Opportunity Areas. As such, the DNR has a responsibility to protect and conserve them. A proposal to build an agriculturally intensive facility of such unprecedented scale adjacent to these ecologically important areas must be subjected to the highest level of environmental scrutiny.

Finally, the fact that hundreds of concerned citizens have asked the DNR to prepare an EIS is evidence that the project is the subject of broad public controversy and is therefore worthy of increased scrutiny. We share local residents’ concerns about the proposed project’s impacts on the environment and public health, and we respectfully urge DNR to use its discretionary authority to grant their request.

Sincerely,

• Robert Kraig, Citizen Action of Wisconsin

• Ben Wilson, Citizen Action of Wisconsin, Driftless Co-op

• Laura Olah, Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger

• Dean Hoegger, Clean Water Action Council of Northeast Wisconsin

• Evan Feinauer, Clean Wisconsin

• Pat Wilson, Coulee Region Sierra Club

• Fred Spademan, Coulee Region Trout Unlimited

• Edie Ehlert, Crawford Stewardship Project

• Driftless Community Action Network

• Betsy Dangelo, Driftless Defenders

• Kim Dupre, Emerald Clean Water for All

• John Peck, Family Farm Defenders

• Tarah Heinzen, Food and Water Watch

• Timm Zumm, Friends of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway

• Dave and Donna Swanson, Grant County Rural Stewardship

• Jen Riemer, Green County Defending our Farmland

• Ramona Moody, Know CAFOs

• Debra Cronmiller, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin

• Melanie Weberg, League of Humane Voters-Wisconsin Chapter

• Steve and Mary Ploeser, League of Women Voters - Upper Mississippi River Region

• Cheryl Nenn, Milwaukee Riverkeeper

• Hannah Mortensen, Physicians for Social Responsibility Wisconsin

• Janet Foust, Preserving our Ixonia Countryside

• Connie Champnoise, Richland Stewardship Project

• Christe Greening, Saratoga Concerned Citizens

• Rob Danielson, Save Our Unique Lands of Wisconsin

• Cheryl Miller, Save the Hills Alliance, Inc

• Elizabeth Ward, Sierra Club - Wisconsin

• Sherri Duggar, Socially Responsible Agricultural Project

• Tim White, Southwest Wisconsin Area Progressives

• Kim Dupre, St Croix County Defending our Water

• Deb Ryun, St Croix River Association

• Forest Jahnke, Sustain Rural Wisconsin Network

• Arleena Roe, Swamp Project People

• Melody Morrell, The Cornucopia Institute

• Andrew Skog, Trout Unlimited - Harry and Laura Nohr Chapter

• Shelly Brenneman and Tom Lukens, Valley Stewardship Network

• Jennifer Giegerich, Wisconsin Conservation Voters

• Megan Severson, Wisconsin Environment

• Claire Gervais M.D. and Bethy Neary M.D., Wisconsin Environmental Health Network

• Darin Von Ruden, Wisconsin Farmers Union

• Michelle Godez, Wisconsin Farmers Union - Grant/Iowa Chapter

• Matt Sheaffer, Wisconsin Farmers Union - South Central Chapter

• Brian Austin, Wisconsin Farmers Union - Sterling-Crawford Chapter

• Craig Dunnum, Wisconsin Farmers Union - Vernon/Crawford Chapter

• Vicki Berenson, Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice

• Al Gedicks, Wisconsin Resources Protection Council

•Fred Clark, Wisconsin’s Green Fire

Cc:

• Brian Weigel – DNR Watershed Management Director 

• Adam Mednick – DNR WEPA Coordinator 

• Chris Clayton – DNR NR Program Manager Tyler Dix – DNR CAFO WPDES Permit Coordinator 

• Claire O’Connell – DNR Wastewater Specialist 

• Mark Cain – DNR Wastewater Engineer 

• Eric Struck – DNR Wastewater Specialist 

• Andrew Craig – DNR Water Resources Management

• Laura Bub – DNR NR Basin Supervisor 

• Governor Tony Evers 

• Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes 

• Attorney General Josh Kaul 

• Representative Loren Oldenburg

• Senator Brad Pfaff Representative 

• Representative Todd Novak, Chair, Speakers Task Force on Water Quality