A resolution seeking to give authority to Vernon County Board committees to request an environmental impact statement (EIS) for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) seeking a permit to operate in the county was removed from consideration, Tuesday.

The board voted unanimously to remove the resolution, after the move was requested by supervisor Dennis Brault, a member of the Board of Health.

Brault said that a county board meeting held in May had given the board of health more information on how to approach a situation in which a CAFO would seek a permit. With this new information, the board of health was opting to approach the matter a different way, Brault said.

The board had twice previously tabled the resolution which would have allowed the board of health or the land and water conservation committee to request an environmental impact statement if the county received a WPDES permit from an entity to run a CAFO in the county.

Both the Board of Health and land and water conservation committee have been dealing with issues surrounding the possible location of a CAFO in Vernon County. Earlier this year, Petry Trust of Rockford, Ill., said it was planning to locate a 3,200-cow CAFO just south of Westby. Later, the location was changed to north of Viroqua along Hwys. 14/61/27. After that, residents reported Petry was also investigating sites in the town of Franklin.

The town of Franklin, at its annual meeting earlier this year, approved a resolution to request an EIS should a CAFO attempt to site a facility within its borders.

The Alliance Concerned with Environmental Safety (ACES), a grassroots organization, has organized to oppose the CAFO. One concern regularly brought up by the group is that Vernon County’s karst geology is not suitable for large CAFO operations. Vernon County currently has two CAFOs. Both are less than half the size than has been proposed by Petry Trust.

There hasn’t been an update of the status of Petry Trust’s plans at a meeting of the land and water conservation committee for several months.

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