Neighbors in the Newburg area and beyond have been clear for months: we want the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to follow the law and order an Environmental Impact Statement for Catalpa Ag, the gigantic 5,000 sow hog operation proposed in Newburg that would put our drinking water, property values, and health at risk. On December 4 at 6:30 p.m. at the Mabel Community Center, we have our last chance to express our concerns directly to the MPCA and demand an EIS before Commissioner John Linc Stine makes a decision. This summer, Catalpa ordered two geological studies on the site. Two scientific experts have analyzed the data. (All info is available to the public on the MPCA website.) Here are a few of their conclusions: “The Project presents an unacceptable risk to the environment and should not be permitted.” The proposal “should be subject to an EIS which should require a much more extensive geotechnical site investigation.” “Proposing to build a stormwater infiltration pond on top of a large mapped cavity in weathered karst bedrock is unconscionable, and probably an actionable geotechnical error.” “The construction of a storm water infiltration pond adjacent to the barns at the proposed Catalpa Barns (with excavated pits beneath them) and near a new high capacity water supply well will be a triple threat for catastrophic sinkhole collapse.” “The entire Catalpa Project Area is not an appropriate place for a large CAFO.” The MPCA will be taking comments on these results from the public at this meeting. Be sure to attend and speak up to protect nearby farms, property values, drinking water, health and trout streams. Enough is enough: EIS YES!
Dayna Burtness
Spring Grove, MN