Tell the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) that industrial-scale projects need industrial-scale review.
Minnesota’s largest dairy producer, Riverview has applied to build the first feedlot in Minnesota to hold over 20,000 animal units. If built, the facility will become the largest permitted CAFO in the state holding 18,855 dairy cattle, bringing the total animal units to 26,397 in one facility. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, which is the agency that issues Minnesota’s feedlot permits, must recognize the fundamentally new nature of this threat and give this permit greater scrutiny than it ever has. This proposal by Riverview LLP must be required to undergo a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
This proposed operation is the first of it’s size in Minnesota. It would be nearly double the size of the next largest operation in our state in terms of animal units. This makes it a fundamentally new and different threat to Minnesota farmers and the rural communities where these kinds of operations are built.
How you can act:
Share your concerns about the proposed facility with the MPCA in a comment before the comment period closes on March 12th at 4:30pm.
Guidance on making comments:
This comment period is open to all Minnesotans and it is critical that they hear from Minnesotans not just on this project but on the precedent set if a project of this size is not required to produce an Environmental Impact Statement. The MPCA uses the EAW, and any comments received to evaluate the potential for significant environmental effects from the project and decide on the need for an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) provides detailed information about the extent of potentially significant environmental impacts of a proposed project, presents alternatives to the proposed project, and identifies methods for reducing adverse environmental effects. The required form and content of an EIS is described in Minnesota Rules 4410.2300, and shall be prepared using an interdisciplinary approach that includes the natural, environmental, and social sciences. The EIS is not meant to approve or deny a project, but instead act as a source of information to guide approval and permitting decisions. The EIS is completed by the responsible governmental unit (RGU) designated according to Minnesota Rules 4410.