SE Minnesota hog farm critics seek full environmental review

Residents near a proposed large-scale hog farm in Fillmore County want Gov. Mark Dayton's administration to order a full environmental review.

Waukon, Iowa-based Catalpa wants to build a 4,980-sow piglet-producing facility about 10 miles east of Harmony. It would general over 7 million gallons of manure annually in a geologically porous area of southeastern Minnesota.

Around 400 people packed a community meeting last month to express concern over the impacts to groundwater and the odors.

The Land Stewardship Project and Responsible Agriculture in Karst Country organized a bus trip from the area to St. Paul Tuesday so residents could meet with Dayton and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency officials as the comment period on the initial environmental review closes.

The MPCA will decide if a full environmental impact statement is necessary.

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