Thief River Falls dairy, state still raising a stink

The company said it's making progress in reducing the odor, but the state issued specific steps it must take.

By TOM MEERSMAN, Star Tribune

Last update: June 20, 2008 - 9:33 AM

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A large dairy in northwestern Minnesota is making progress in reducing strong odors that caused neighbors to evacuate their homes earlier this week, a company executive said Wednesday, and the company has offered to pay for hotel rooms and meals for those affected.

However, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency officials said it's too early to tell whether the odors have been reduced enough to meet state limits. The agency sent a letter to Excel Dairy's owners demanding immediate actions to minimize air emissions from the dairy's manure basins, and noting that the Marshall County Attorney has initiated a public nuisance action against the company.

On Sunday, Minnesota health officials advised people living near the 1,500-cow operation just north of Thief River Falls to leave their homes if possible. The recommendation came after local residents said they measured hydrogen sulfide gas near homes at levels that were more than 200 times higher than state rules allow.

In a written statement, Rick Millner, CEO of Prairie Ridge Management Co. of Veblen, S.D., said Wednesday that the company "is working hard and expending significant resources to address our neighbors' concerns." The company manages Excel and a number of other dairies in Minnesota and the Dakotas.

Millner said that the company installed an aerator at Excel on June 5 that is designed to reduce odors, and that a second aerator is ready to be installed.

The rotten-egg smell of the hydrogen sulfide is a nuisance at low levels, but at high concentrations can cause dizziness, memory loss, respiratory irritation and other serious health problems.

"The long-term benefits of this new manure management system will be appreciated and effective," Millner said.

One neighbor who left his home last week disputes those claims. Jeff Brouse said he returns to his house to check on things and to get fresh clothes for his family. He measured hydrogen sulfide on Monday and Tuesday evenings at 15 to 60 times higher than state standards allow. "It was horrible when I was out there this morning again," he said Wednesday.

Brouse said that four to six families within a mile of the dairy have left their homes to stay with families or friends, and one or two others are staying in a motel.

In a letter sent to Millner late Wednesday afternoon, MPCA deputy commissioner Leo Raudys directed the company to immediately put chopped straw on the surface of its manure basins to form a crust that will reduce air emissions. The letter also demands that Excel stop depositing manure into the basins from the top and instead pipe it in from below.

Minnesota law allows feedlots to be exempt from hydrogen sulfide limits for a maximum of 21 days per year under certain circumstances, so the MPCA asked Excel to list which days in 2008 for which it's claiming that exemption.

Gaylen Reetz, the MPCA regional division director, said that the agency required improvements in Excel's manure system because of regulatory problems last year. Some of the recent odors might have been generated by that project now underway at the site, he said, which includes emptying a large manure basin and scraping out the sludge so that it can be relined and repaired.

Tom Meersman • 612-673-7388

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