November 18, 2004

The Department of Environmental Quality has filed a lawsuit naming Arnoud Schot and his New Flevo Dairy, Inc. as defendants. The New Flevo Dairy is located in Rome Township at 9717 Forrister Road in Adrian. This dairy is considered a large concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) and houses approximately 1,500 cows. The lawsuit was filed in the 30th Judicial Circuit for Ingham County and alleges that Schot discharged agricultural wastes from his dairy operation in Lenawee County to protected waters of the state on at least ten occasions. These discharges occurred without a permit and are alleged to have impacted area waterways including the Wallace and Penrod County Drains and Hazen Creek. The DEQ alleges that these discharges contained pollutants at concentrations that may injure the public health and the environment.

CAFOs are regulated by state and federal law as point sources that must be controlled through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permitting program. Michigan has been delegated authority by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency to implement the NPDES program within the state.

This is the third lawsuit filed by the DEQ in the 30th Judicial Circuit this year naming a large-scale dairy as a defendant. The first case, MDEQ et al v. Vreba-Hoff Dairy, LLC was initially filed in September 2003, but was amended on March 30, 2004 to include additional discharges. The second complaint against Jan Vanderhoff, doing business as Vanderhoff-Haley Dairy, was filed on August 4.

“We are filing these lawsuits as a last resort,” said DEQ Director Steven E. Chester. “Operators of these large farms must be aware of and take responsibility for, the damage their facilities can cause to the community and the environment when they are not managed properly.”

Editor’s note: DEQ news releases are available on the department’s Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

Revised November 18, 2004 by Pat Watson