The Dakota Resource Council, along with local Abercrombie, North Dakota residents and environmental advocacy partners in Canada, have joined together to urge a reconsideration of a permit for a large dairy operation in the southern Red River Valley.
Riverview Farms proposes a 12,500 head dairy operation for a location south of Abercrombie. Madeline Luke with the Dakota Resource Council says this location is situated too close to the Wild Rice River and Red Rivers, as well as on top of the Wahpeton Buried Valley Aquifer. The aquifer supplies drinking water to 28 domestic wells, as well as the cities of Abercrombie, Wahpeton, and Breckenridge, Minnesota. Luke says the clay lagoon system will not adequately protect the aquifer.
"The lagoons that we've been talking about are 24 inch clay lagoons. This is technology that's from the 1930s. This is 2025, so this is a hundred-year-old technology that's designed to dam water. Wastewater and manure is not water. So, already we're in trouble."
Luke says the state initially allowed Riverview Farms to apply for their permit without a monitor under their clay liners – but those have since been added. She says geologists recommend geosynthetic liners along with the clay liners – and that those would be adequate to protect ground water.
Riverview Farms is also looking to build a 25,000 head dairy further north up in Traill County, south of Hillsboro.
Brady Janzen is a partner with Riverview Farms. He says every precaution to protect the groundwater will be taken with triple lined lagoons.
"They will have an engineered and compacted clay liner as the base liner for the storage basins. On top of that, there will be a thick, synthetic liner. And then on top of that yet, there will be an additional synthetic liner as well - so that this will provide an impermeable layer, an impermeable liner, to protect all groundwater resources underneath of it."
Janzen says the lagoons will also have liners covering them to mitigate odors. He says the site was chosen due to good conditions for the cows, as well as support from area farmers and communities.
Janzen says Riverview Farms wishes to continue working on relationships with local residents moving forward. He says their biggest priority is being a good neighbor.