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Emerald Sky Dairy CAFO Permit

Emerald Sky (formerly Emerald Dairy) is a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO), located in St. Croix County, currently permitted by the DNR under the Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permit program. The operation was previously owned by John Vrieze and operated under the name Emerald Dairy. In March 2016, Emerald Dairy was purchased by Todd Tuls and now operates under the name of Emerald Sky Dairy.

WPDES permits are water quality protection permits designed to ensure proper storage and handling of manure from larger-scale livestock operations. The WPDES permit program does not have authority to address odor, noise, traffic or other issues not related to water quality.

On May 4, 2016, Emerald Sky submitted a preliminary application (see documents below) requesting the DNR modify its WPDES permit to accommodate an expansion from 2,460 animal units to 8,804 animal units. The DNR is currently waiting for the operation to submit additional application materials (e.g. design plans, a nutrient management plan) before it begins processing the modification request and making any decisions regarding the expansion.

WPDES permit is required

CAFOs like Emerald Sky are required to obtain a WPDES permit. The permit regulates how CAFOs store and land apply manure and process wastewater — e.g. milking center wastes and feed storage leachate — in order to protect water quality.

WPDES permit application and related documents Documents received by DNR

Document/document type Description Contact
WPDES Permit application forms [DNR FTP]

WPDES permit application forms and general operation information including:

Jeff Jackson
Design plans

Engineering design plans for a feed storage facility, feed leachate & runoff collection system, two waste storage facilities, solid manure stacking area & waste transfer pipes, and abandonment of a waste storage facility.

Other Engineering Documents:

Additional documents [DNR FTP]