The owner of a Monroe County dairy operation remains undecided whether to appeal a ruling that he operated without required environmental permits.
Monroe County Circuit Court judge Mark Goodman ordered Phil Mlsna and Mlsna Dairy Supply to pay $210,000 for violating Wisconsin’s wastewater laws at a concentrated animal feeding operation south of Sparta. The fine includes forfeitures, surcharges, court costs and attorney fees.
Mlsna’s operation includes 2,220 cows, 500 heifers and 200 calves in the town of Leon. The operation plans to expand to 3,000 cows by 2027. The farm generates 25.2 million gallons of liquid manure and wastewater per year, according to the state.
The complaint lists three violations: failure to reapply for a Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, operating a concentrated animal feeding operation without a permit and construction of a reviewable facility without a permit.
The state Department of Justice contends that Mlsna operated without a permit from 2015-2023. A CAFO permit is required for operations with more than 1,000 animals.
Mlsna criticized the judgment and said he made repeated good faith efforts to comply. He said it was difficult to get anyone from the state Department of Natural Resources to visit his farm and assess his operation.
Mlsna said the problem began when a vendor he contracted to conduct an analysis in 2015 left the business and caused him to miss a July 2015 deadline. He said that put him behind in the permitting process and that the DNR was unresponsive to his situation.
“The DNR didn’t call me and say, ‘If you don’t get his done by 2019, we’re going to turn you over to the DOJ,” Mlsna said. “They dragged their feet. They waited and waited.”
Mlsna said the situation was exacerbated by changing state regulations in 2016 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. He said nobody from DNR came to his farm for more than three years after COVID-19 despite his repeated requests for a visit.
He said the farm paid $375 annually in CAFO application permits from 2015-23.
“They kept billing me for a permit and I paid it,” he said.
Mlsna said he has invested more than $10 million in the operation since 2016, including installing a sand separation system.
The DOJ declined to comment on Mlsna’s specific assertions and referred the Tribune to Goodman’s ruling and a DOJ press release.
Goodman’s ruling rejected Mlsna’s argument that the DNR delayed the process. He wrote that Mlsna “boldly defied the DNR’s regulatory authority by constructing a complex, million-dollar system with no departmental oversight whatsoever.”
“They have no one to blame but themselves for missing the WPDES permit renewal deadline,” Goodman wrote. “They have operated for more than a half-dozen years without a permit. They are entitled to their complaints about the expense and complexity in complying with new regulation. However, such excuse minimally diminishes their culpability.”
Goodman’s ruling says Mlsna didn’t submit his permit application until Dec. 4, 2016, which was rejected by the DNR as incomplete.
Mlsna admitted he continued to operate the farm while the permitting status was unclear. He said it was impractical to shut down the farm.
“You have to maintain your animals,” Mlsna said. “You don’t terminate your business.”
Manure spills
The complaint says Mlsna operated the dairy in a manner that threatens water quality. It alleges that the dairy’s manure storage facility overtopped in 2016 and 2018 and that manure discharged into the Little La Crosse River in 2021. Goodman wrote that “Mlsna’s storage and application of manure were far from ideal,” but none of the incidents led to a sanction.
Mlsna contends that neither the DNR nor DOJ could prove that any of the incidents caused environmental harm but acknowledged the issue is separate from maintaining a valid permit. The DNR ultimately granted Mlsna a permit effective Sept. 1, 2023.
He strongly defended his environmental stewardship.
“I run a very nice, very clean and very beautiful operation,” Mlsna said.
Mlsna estimates an appeal would take about two years. He said his attorney originally offered a $100,000 settlement but was rebuffed. He said his legal fees have totaled $150,000, but he decided to pursue the case based on principle. He said the DOJ originally sought $575,000.
“This is the first case like it in Wisconsin,” Mlsna said. “The DNR was flabbergasted that I just didn’t get out of the way.”
La Crosse Tribune reporter Steve Rundio can be reached at steve.rundio@lee.net.
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