Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Environmental Review: Kevin Kain, 651-296-7432 Information Officer: Nancy Miller, 507-280-3590 Rochester, Minn. -- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) seeks comments on an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) prepared for a proposed expansion of the Rucker Hog Feedlot near Oronoco, Minn. James Rucker proposes adding a 2,000-head hog-finishing barn to his existing 2,000-hog and 221-head dairy operation in Oronoco Township. Dimensions of the proposed barn would be 51 feet by 328 feet. The curtain-sided, naturally-ventilated barn would have a concrete, slatted floor above eight-foot deep concrete manure collection pits. Air from the collection pits would be ventilated through a bio-filter to reduce odors. Once or twice a year, manure would be pumped from below the barn and incorporated as fertilizer on designated cropland. The proposed expansion would increase the number of animal units at the site from approximately 814 to 1,414. The EAW provides basic information about how a proposed project could potentially affect the environment, and helps determine whether an Environmental Impact Statement, a more comprehensive environmental review, is needed. Interested parties may comment on the EAW during the public notice period, which begins Nov. 20, 2006. Written comments must be received at the MPCA St. Paul office by 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 20. Copies of the Rucker Hog Feedlot expansion EAW are available at the following locations.
· MPCA St. Paul office, 520 Lafayette Road N.;
· MPCA Rochester office, 18 Wood Lake Drive S.E.;
· Rochester Public Library, 101 Second Street S.E.;
· Pine Island Van Horn Public Library, 115 S.E. Third Street;
· MPCA Web site at http://www.pca.state.mn.us. Send questions and comments on the Rucker Hog Feedlot expansion EAW to Kevin Kain, Environmental Review and Operations, MPCA, 520 Lafayette Road N., Saint Paul, MN 55155. Kain can also be reached by phone at 651-296-7432, fax at 651-297-2343 or by e-mail at kevin.kain@pca.state.mn.us.