DNR orders Gordondale Farms near Nelsonville to submit monitoring plan to address nitrates in groundwater
NELSONVILLE – A large dairy farm in Portage County that has long been the center of a debate over nitrate contamination in the village of Nelsonville will be required to monitor its wastewater.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources on Friday ordered Gordondale Farms to develop an off-site groundwater monitoring plan and submit it to the DNR for review by Oct. 12.
Gordondale Farms is located near Nelsonville, a village where, over half the private wells tested by the Portage County Department of Health in 2018 showed high levels of nitrate contamination.
Gordondale Farms is a concentrated animal feeding operation, known as a CAFO, and is home to more than 2,000 cattle. One hundred forty-two people reside in the village, about 14 miles outside of Stevens Point, according to the 2020 U.S. Census.
Nitrates, chemicals that typically enter the water supply through pollution from manure or sewage systems, can cause illness when consumed, such as birth defects, thyroid problems and cancer, especially cancers of the gastrointestinal system.
“We’re elated and grateful to (the) DNR," Lisa Anderson, a resident of Nelsonville and former chair of its Groundwater Protection Committee, said in a press release from Portage County for Clean Water. “They are taking the nitrate pollution situation seriously, and this is a good next step in helping Nelsonville get safe water.”
In September 2020, residents of Nelsonville, whose health problems related to nitrates were reported by USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin later that year, challenged Gordondale's CAFO permit because they said the requirements did not do enough to protect the village's drinking water.
In July 2021, a ruling by the Wisconsin State Supreme Court affirmed the ability of the DNR to take into account runoff pollution into drinking water in its decisions on CAFO permits.
As a result, the DNR is revisiting multiple permits issued to large farms in the state, including Gordondale.
Ten people spoke in favor of the well monitoring change during a May 12 DNR hearing, with one central Wisconsin dairy farmer making a statement against it.
Kyle Gordon, the head of Gordondale Farms, previously told the Stevens Point Journal he expects monitoring wells to cost his farm at least $150,000 in addition to maintenance and testing. To date, he said, the farm has spent about $60,000 on attorneys, hydrogeologists and improving land management practices to minimize nitrate leaching, where nitrate moves from the soil to groundwater.
Reporters Alan Hovorka and Renee Hickman contributed to this report.
Contact USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin editor Jamie Rokus at jrokus@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Jamie_Rokus.
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This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: DNR orders Nelsonville farm to submit plan to address nitrates in groundwater
