Natural Resources Agency Must Consider Downstream Impacts When Issuing Permits

摘要

A circuit court judge has ordered the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to consider the impact an industrial diary processing plant will have on downstream water quality when issuing a discharge permit, rejecting the agency's assertion that this duty was merely "optional" (Midwest Envtl. Def. Ctr. Inc. v. Wis. Dep't of Natural Res., Wis. Cir. Ct. Dane Cty., No. 12 CV 3352, 9/19/13). Dane County Circuit Court Judge Frank D. Remington issued a ruling Sept. 19, finding that the DNR had erroneously applied state law in issuing a Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permit to Foremost Farms USA, which operates a fleet of cheese and butter processing facilities across the state.