Wisconsin Fights Proposed Dairy Farm
A small town in central Wisconsin is continuing its legal battle against a proposed dairy farm that's expected to be classified as a concentrated animal feeding operation with 5,300 animals.
Attorneys and town officials filed notice Monday that Saratoga is appealing a Wood County Circuit Court decision allowing the 7,000-acre Golden Sands Family Farm to proceed. The judge determined that Wysocki Family of Cos., which would run large-scale dairy operation, has the right to use the land for agricultural purposes.
After the company applied for building permits, officials in Saratoga placed a moratorium on issuing permits until zoning was established in the town, Daily Tribune Media reported.
Wysocki won a lawsuit it filed against the town's building inspector, Lorelei Fuehrer, after she refused to issue a building permit. The company also filed a lawsuit against the town regarding the zoning restrictions, which were put in place in November 2012.
Company attorneys argued that Golden Sands was able to use the land for agricultural purposes because the building permits had already been filed, and Wysocki's intentions were clarified before Saratoga put in place zoning rules that prohibited agriculturist use of the property.
Portage County Circuit Judge Thomas Eagon, who was acting as a substitute judge in the Wood County case, ruled in March that Wysocki had the right to use the land for agriculture, because it was permitted on the land when the company applied for its permit. A written decision was issued April 30 by Eagon.
The state Department of Natural Resources currently is reviewing environmental impact report for Golden Sands and its Wisconsin Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit application.
