MPCA seeks comments on swine facility

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) invites public comment on an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) for a proposed total confinement swine facility in Todd County 11 miles west of Long Prairie. The 30-day comment period ends August 23.

The proposed Gourley Brothers confinement facility would house 2,930 sows, 300 nursery pigs and 750 replacement gilts. The animals will remain indoors with no open lots. The facility will be 230 feet wide by 424 feet long.

All manure generated at the site will be contained in a below-ground concrete liquid manure storage area. The manure will remain in this storage area until fall, when it will be land applied after harvest. The application sites are in Leslie Township within four miles of the proposed facility.

Construction is expected to begin this summer upon completion of the environmental review process and issuance of a federal/state discharge permit.

A draft copy of the permit is available for review and comment on the MPCA Public Notices webpage.

An EAW is a preliminary environmental review of how a proposed project could potentially affect the environment. An EAW also helps the MPCA determine whether an Environmental Impact Statement (a more in-depth environmental review) is needed.

Comments should be submitted by 4:30 p.m. on August 23. They should be mailed to Kevin Kain, MPCA, 520 Lafayette Rd. N., St. Paul, MN 55155-5194, or fax (651) 297-2343 or by e-mailkevin.kain@state.mn.us.

Copies of the Gourley Brothers EAW are available for review at the MPCA’s Baxter and St. Paul offices. To request a copy, call (651) 757-2101.

For more information, call Kevin Kain at (651) 757-2482 or 1-800-657-3864 or e-mail kevin.kain@state.mn.us.

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