Agriculture

NE Iowa dairy fined for eliminating pollution control without permission

Published

5 years ago

November 12, 2018

A dairy farm in northeast Iowa will pay a $100,000 fine for violating air-quality standards.

The Prairie Farms Dairy of Luana, in Clayton County, also will have to install pollution control equipment, under a consent decree signed by a district judge.

The Iowa Attorney General’s office says the cheese plant in Luana removed an anti-pollution device called a baghouse more than 10 years ago, without getting a permit first.

Now, the dairy company has agreed to install a new baghouse, costing $1.4 million.

The cheese factory had operated as Swiss Valley Farms, until a merger with Prairie Farms last year.

Related Topics:Luana pollution Prairie Farms

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.