Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Media Contact: Dan Olson, (218) 846-7390 Technical Contact: Jim Sullivan, (651) 297-1788 Toll-free: (800) 657-3864 Detroit Lakes, Minn. -- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has completed an Environmental Assessment Worksheet on a proposed 5,557-head dairy feedlot nine miles southwest of Morris. The public comment period for the EAW ends May 11. The proposed District 45 Dairy would include two free-stall barns, one milking parlor, one special-needs barn and a covered feed storage pad. Manure would be stored in a clay-lined earthen basin. The entire site would occupy 120 acres. If the project is approved, construction would begin in the fall of this year. The EAW is a preliminary environmental review of how a proposed project could potentially affect the environment. The EAW also helps the MPCA determine if an Environmental Impact Statement (a more in-depth environmental review) is needed. The EAW is necessary for the MPCA to issue a permit for the project. The MPCA may make changes to the permit based on input it receives during the EAW public comment period and/or on new information gathered as part of its own review of the project. Comments on the District 45 Dairy EAW should be submitted in writing by May 11, 2005, to Jim Sullivan, MPCA, 520 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, MN 55155-4194, or by fax to (651) 297-2343. Copies of the EAW are available for review on the Web at/news/eaw/index.html as well as the following locations: the public libraries in Hancock and Morris, Minn.; the MPCA Detroit Lakes office, 714 Lake Avenue, Suite 220; and the MPCA St. Paul office, 520 Lafayette Road North. To request a copy of the EAW, contact Gail Skowronek, MPCA, 520 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, MN 55155-4194; phone (651) 296-7398; or by fax (651) 296-7782. Additional information on the environmental review process is available on the Web at http://www.mnplan.state.mn.us/eqb/pdf/envreview.PDF