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EPA orders Illinois dairy to stop discharges, apply for permit

Release Date: 09/03/2008
Contact Information: Phillippa Cannon, (312) 353-6218, [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 08 – OPA136

(Chicago, Ill. - Sep. 3, 2008) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has ordered Mondt Dairy Farm in Aviston, Ill., in Clinton County, to stop discharging stormwater and process wastewater, apply for a wastewater discharge permit from Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and come into compliance with the Clean Water Act.

Mondt Dairy Farm is a medium-sized confined animal feeding operation (CAFO) with a capacity for 350 cows. EPA conducted a flyover and subsequent inspection of the dairy and found several violations of the Clean Water Act. EPA determined the need for a wastewater discharge permit and the installation of waste containment structures to prevent the discharge of process wastewater to Sugar Creek.

Stormwater run-off and production area discharges from CAFOs typically contain very high levels of nutrients and pathogens that can pose a threat to public health and harm aquatic life. The Clean Water Act requires CAFOs that discharge to obtain and comply with Clean Water Act permits.