Crawford County Dairy Co-op Fined

Feb 18, 2021 | 5:10 PM

A Crawford County dairy cooperative is being fined $50,000 for violation of water pollution control laws. Attorney General Josh Kaul announced Thursday his office has obtained a judgment against three facilities in Wisconsin – including Mt. Sterling Cheese. According to a complaint, Mt. Sterling Cheese allowed an unpermitted discharge of wastewater from the facility over at least two days in the summer of 2018. The discharge, which contained high levels of pollutants, reached a nearby state waterway. The complaint alleges that the co-op failed to timely report this runoff event to the DNR. The judgement requires payment of $50,000 in forfeitures, surcharges, court costs, and attorney fees for the violations. The judgment also requires the co-op to hire an environmental consultant to evaluate and improve waste practices at the Mt. Sterling site.