Environmental Agency Approves Permit for Large Eastern North Dakota Dairy

By Jeff Beach

A North Dakota agency has approved a permit for what could become the largest dairy in state history — a 25,000-cow milking operation in Traill County. 

The North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality is issuing the permit for Riverview Dairy at a site near the Red River southeast of Hillsboro. 

Riverview, based in Morris, Minnesota, plans to build two large dairies on the North Dakota side of the Red River that could quadruple the number of dairy cows in the state. North Dakota’s dairy industry has been dwindling for decades. 

Riverview had already obtained an environmental permit for a 12,500-cow dairy north of Wahpeton in Richland County. 

Riverview still needs permits from the North Dakota Department of Water Resources to supply the dairies with the large amounts of water the dairies need. Riverview says its cows need 20–30 gallons of water per cow each day. That would equal at least 700,000 gallons of water per day for the Traill County site.

The environmental permit reviewed such things as Riverview’s plans for storing manure from the cows and applying it to farm fields near the dairy as fertilizer. According to the permit, the dairy would produce about 143.3 million gallons of manure each year. 

A news release from the Department of Environmental Quality said Riverview identified sufficient cropland acres to apply the manure. But because of public concerns, the agency will continue to analyze the 100-year floodplain near the Traill County dairy. No fields in the floodplain were approved for manure application.

Riverview said Thursday it hopes to begin moving dirt at the site this fall, with construction taking about two years. It has already started dirt work in Richland County.

In the news release, the Department of Environmental Quality said the agency is committed to protecting the environment and public health. 

“During the construction phase, staff will conduct regular facility inspections to ensure full compliance with all permit conditions. Once the operation begins, inspections will occur at least annually to verify continued adherence to permit requirements,” the agency said. 

Some environmental groups such as North Dakota-based Dakota Resource Council and others based in Manitoba, Canada, have expressed concerns about the potential for pollution from the dairies into the north-flowing Red River. 

In submitted comments, the Dakota Resource Council said the “failure to regulate Herberg Dairy in a manner that prevents water pollution will harm human health, wildlife, and North Dakota’s outdoor recreational economy.” It also said the dairy will add to the cost of cleaning up Red River water for cities downstream that use the river as a drinking water source, such as Grand Forks and Grafton.

Canadian groups have expressed concerns about pollution in the Red River contributing to algae bloom on Lake Winnipeg, which the river drains into. 

Riverview, which operates several large dairies in western Minnesota, refers to the Traill County site as Herberg Dairy, named for the township it will be in. 

“Our dairies are designed to meet or exceed strict environmental standards, reflecting our commitment to caring for land, water, animals, and people,” Riverview said in an emailed statement. “We are also committed to being a good neighbor and community partner.” 

The Traill County dairy would create about 100 jobs and the Richland Dairy 45–50 jobs, according to Riverview.

Jim Murphy, executive director of the Traill County Economic Development Commission, called the permit approval great news for Hillsboro and Traill County but said housing workers will be a challenge. 

“We don’t have much for housing in town, so that’s a solution we will need to work on over the next 18 months,” Murphy said in an interview with the Hillsboro Banner. 

Riverview provides housing on site for some of its workers who milk cows around the clock. 

When Riverview filed for its permit for the Herberg Dairy, the Department of Environmental Quality held a public hearing in Hillsboro in May, with many of the comments in support. 

That included Darin Johnson, the mayor of Halstad, Minnesota, a town on the Red River that is closer to the dairy site than Hillsboro. He has visited a Riverview Dairy and said he’s impressed with its risk management and manure handling methods.

“I really believe the manure is liquid gold that is going to help our soils and help our crops,” Johnson said at the hearing. 

This story was updated with additional information from the permit.

North Dakota Monitor Deputy Editor Jeff Beach [email protected].

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