An official from the Minnesota Department of Health explained to the Marshall County Commission in Warren, Minn., on Tuesday its finding this summer that the Excel Dairy farm north of Thief River Falls is a public health hazard.
The health department's action is another piece of a mosaic of federal, state and local government actions seeking to stop the farm's stink, which has driven some nearby residents from their homes.
Tuesday's meeting was simply an informational meeting with no action asked of the county board, said commissioner LeRoy Vonasek.
A state health department official this summer at one point advised nearby residents to evacuate their homes temporarily because the hydrogen sulfide levels coming from the dairy farm's manure lagoons were so high as to be hazardous to their health.
The Excel Dairy in the south central part of the county, only six miles north of Thief River Falls, has 1,500 cows and a huge odor problem, according to nearby residents and county officials.
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"It's terrible," said Vonasek, of the odors he encountered on his visit to the farm, which is owned by Dairy Dozen, of Veblen, S.D., and managed by Prairie Ridge, also of South Dakota. Dairy Dozen, which includes several partners in Sargent County, N.D., owns several large dairy operations in Minnesota and South Dakota. Rick Millner, chief executive of Prairie Ridge Management in South Dakota, is listed on a Web site giving federal information about farm ownership as owning the biggest single part of Dairy Dozen.
No one answered the telephone Tuesday evening at Dairy Dozen's office in Veblen.
The dairy's spokespeople have blamed the odors on state requirements to clean out lagoons of manure that accumulated for years under previous owners of the farm.
The state health department explained Tuesday why it has declared the farm a public health hazard, said Marshall County Attorney Mike Williams.
About a dozen of the neighboring residents of the farm attended the meeting, and some spoke, as did Matt Forsgren, a Twin Cities attorney for Excel Dairy.
The dairy farm is facing actions, both legal and regulatory, from the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, as well as the state health department.
Marshall County has filed two public nuisance complaints and a civil abatement complaint in state district court, seeking an injunction to force the dairy farm to cover its lagoon cells, said Williams.
He may learn today from Judge Jeffrey Remick whether he will hear the case Oct. 17, Williams said.
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Judge Remick ordered the farm in August to comply with MPCA regulations. Monitors on and near the farm have shown hundreds of large violations of state air-quality regulations in recent months. The dairy's spokesmen have said the farm is trying to comply with all the requirements.
Reach Lee at (701) 780-1237; (800) 477-6572, ext. 237; or send e-mail to slee@gfherald.com
