The Wisconsin Dairy Alliance has filed an appeal against the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources over pollution discharge elimination system licenses. The initial complaint argued that the DNR lacked the jurisdiction to require farmers to get licenses under the state’s water quality statutes. Calumet County Judge Carey Reed dismissed this argument in January. Kim Bremmer of Venture Dairy Cooperative feels that farmers should not be required to get a discharge permit if they are not dischargers. Bremmer believes their appeal will be successful based on prior court decisions, since the federal Supreme Court has ruled against the EPA using identical wording. Bremmer thinks the state should halt polluters, but Wisconsin already has the nation’s strictest water regulatory regulations for big farms, and they are not polluting the state’s rivers. The Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce Litigation Center is handling the appeals case.
