MADISON – The WMC Litigation Center, an affiliate of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC), filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Wisconsin Dairy Alliance and Venture Dairy Cooperative in Calumet County Circuit Court against the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), challenging two of its permitting regulations.
The DNR maintains and enforces two administrative rules that require wastewater-discharge permits for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) of a certain size, regardless of whether the operation discharges pollutants. One of these rules, relating specifically to agricultural storm water runoff, defines “agricultural storm water discharge” more narrowly than Wisconsin state statutes and federal regulations allow.
“The DNR does not have the statutory authority to require discharge permits for businesses that aren’t discharging or to require permits for agricultural storm water runoff,” said Scott Rosenow, Executive Director of the WMC Litigation Center. “While the DNR has authority to regulate the discharge of pollutants, these two rules conflict with state statutes and exceed the DNR’s legal authority.”
The WMC Litigation Center is arguing the DNR’s rules exceed its scope of statutory authority and impose substantial costs and regulatory burdens.
“The Legislature has explicitly forbidden the DNR from requiring a WPDES [Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System] permit for agricultural storm water discharges, yet the DNR is requiring farmers to obtain a time-consuming and expensive permit to qualify for this statutory permit exemption. The DNR is also requiring farmers to obtain a permit for discharging pollutants, even if they aren’t discharging pollutants. Multiple courts have struck down nearly identical rules at the federal level,” Rosenow noted. “We are proud to represent the Wisconsin Dairy Alliance and Venture Dairy Cooperative on behalf of their farmer members in combating unnecessary and unlawful regulations.”
The WMC Litigation Center represents WMC and other clients in legal actions to foster and protect the free enterprise system from government entities that act beyond their authority. To learn more about the Litigation Center, visit www.wmclitigationcenter.org.
