(North Dakota Monitor) – A judge has upheld a North Dakota environmental agency’s permit issued for what is planned to be the state’s largest dairy farm.
The Dakota Resource Council challenged the Department of Environmental Quality’s permit for the Herberg Dairy in Traill County. The animal feeding operation permit covered areas such as manure management and water water discharge for the planned 25,000-cow Herberg Dairy southeast of Hillsboro, near the Red River.
It is one of two large dairies being built in North Dakota’s Red River Valley by Riverview, based in Morris, Minnesota.
East Central District Court Judge Susan Bailey issued the ruling affirming the permit Oct. 1. Bailey heard arguments on the permit challenge in July in Hillsboro.
Dani Replogle is the attorney for the environmental group Food and Water Watch that represented the Dakota Resource Council.
“My main takeaway from the opinion is that this is just another instance of courts deferring to agencies despite evidence showing that they (the agencies) are not doing their job,” Replogle said Wednesday. “North Dakotans deserve better.”
The lawsuit named Riverview as well as the Department of Environmental Quality.
“We appreciate the court’s review and decision,” the agency said in a statement. “We remain committed to a thorough, transparent permitting process grounded in sound science and consistent application of the law to protect human health and the environment.”
Brady Janzen, who works on site development for Riverview Dairy, said the company was pleased with the court’s decision.
“The permit followed a comprehensive review by the state’s environmental regulators, including consideration of public comments and safeguards designed to protect the land and water resources we all depend on,” Janzen said in an emailed statement. “We take seriously our responsibility to be good stewards of those resources and good neighbors in the communities where we live and work.”
Janzen said construction crews have started moving dirt at the Herberg site while construction at the Abercrombie Dairy in Richland County is ahead of schedule.
“The main barn is up, and crews will continue working inside the barn throughout the winter, with remaining outbuildings and exterior dirt work expected to be completed in 2027,” Janzen said.
The Dakota Resource Council and a group of Wahpeton-area landowners also have filed suit against the North Dakota Department of Water Resources. They are challenging a water sale for Riverview’s Abercrombie Dairy.
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