Wisc. Family Sues Dairy Farm Over Groundwater Pollution

A rural Luxemburg, Wisc. family has accused a 900-cow dairy farm of spreading so much liquid manure that a stream and the family’s drinking well became polluted, causing family members to become ill.

Scott and Judy Treml asked a federal judge to order that Stahl Farms, owned by Glen Stahl, stop violating provisions of the U.S. Clean Water Act and pay tens of thousands of dollars in civil penalties for violations.

Stahl operates the farm about two miles from the Treml home and spreads liquid manure on an 80-acre field across the road from the house, according to the 32-page lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Green Bay.

Members of the Treml family, including three young children, became seriously ill earlier this year from exposure to contaminated drinking water caused by the farm’s pollution, the lawsuit claimed. The family had water trucked to the farm for a time because of the problem.

After investigating the problem, the state Department of Natural Resources sent a notice of violation of its Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit to the Glen Stahl farm today.

Source: The Associated Press