Gordondale Farms sign. Image courtesy: WAOW TV
NELSONVILLE, WI (WSAU-WAOW) A Portage County farm is accused of polluting area water sources with nitrate, and now the DNR is taking action.
Gordondale Farms is a concentrated animal feeding operation, or a CAFO, with about 1,200 cows.
The DNR is considering modifying its permit to require groundwater monitoring because of elevated levels of nitrates found in nearby private wells.
But owner Kyle Gordon insists his farm has always followed the appropriate nitrate standards, and that changes could be costly for his operation. “We’ve already gone about $60,000 in defending ourselves,” said Gordon. “These monitoring wells could cost upwards of 100 to 200 thousand dollars. We’re actually considering what our future really is.”
Sampling of private wells in the Nelsonville area found that nitrate concentrations were higher than the state’s health standard.
The DNR says the groundwater monitoring requirement was part of a recent State Supreme Court ruling in a separate case, and that it’s just a preliminary course of action. “The farm would be required to install those wells and begin to monitor them,” said Tyler Dix, CAFO Permit Coordinator for the DNR. “From there we would require a phase two plan and determine what’s appropriate going on from there.”
Residents will be able to weigh in on changes to Gordondale Farms’ permits in a meeting that will be held virtually on May 12.
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