LEWISTON — Richard and Karen Ahrens never meant to become activists.
For seven decades, the Ahrens have lived on the farm that first belonged to Richard’s grandparents. Here, they raised beef cattle and cultivated crops until they decided to retire and rent the land out to another farmer.
Although their property is partially on city water, they knew that agricultural practices — coupled with the porous geology of southeast Minnesota — could contaminate their well water, so every few years, they’d send off a sample for testing.
In 1992, the water had 1.4 parts per million of nitrate, well within the Environmental Protection Agency’s standard for drinking water of 10 parts per million.
In 2019, nitrate levels reached 13 parts per million — unsafe for drinking. By spring of 2022, the nitrate level reached 19, almost double the safe drinking limit.
The Ahrens suspected a culprit — a dairy less than two miles away, owned by the local Daley family, where more than 1,700 cattle produce enough manure to fill 50 Olympic-sized swimming pools per year. That manure is pumped out of a lagoon and onto the surrounding crop fields, where the high nitrogen content fuels crop growth — and seeps into the groundwater by way of the region’s leaky bedrock.
Richard went to grade school with some of the Daley brothers, and Karen sings in the church choir with a member of the prominent local family.
“People are hesitant to speak out against the Daleys,” Karen said.
In 2018, when they caught wind that the Daleys wanted to massively expand their operation, they joined dozens of neighbors in writing letters of opposition to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Winona County board.
What started as a disagreement among neighbors five years ago has since grown into a full-fledged legal battle involving some of the country’s biggest agriculture and environmental groups.
A uniquely vulnerable landscape
In this rural corner of Minnesota, the land swallows streams whole, and springs well up through deep cracks in the limestone bedrock. The line between groundwater and surface water is blurry due to the scattered sinkholes and springs, features of Karst terrain.
Rainwater collects nitrogen from the commercial fertilizer and manure spread on Winona County farms and carries it through these natural channels until it reaches the aquifers drawn upon by residents’ wells.
Along the way, microscopic organisms convert the nitrogen to nitrate, a toxic substance that is especially dangerous to pregnant women and babies. Sometimes the contaminated water takes centuries to reach aquifers and sometimes it takes days.
The nitrate contamination in drinking water is reaching crisis levels.
Winona County has some of the highest rates of nitrate pollution in the state, and the EPA warned state agencies in November that they need to take stronger action to protect drinking water in southeast Minnesota after prodding by environmental groups including Land Stewardship Project.
It could be the farm next door, or the one several miles away, that is responsible for polluting an aquifer. The pollution could have been caused by the people who farmed the land 100 years ago, or those who are farming it today. That makes it difficult, and expensive, to determine the exact farmer or field responsible for the damage.
The situation makes some people suspicious of their neighbors — and others defensive of their farming practices.
Since the 1980s, Land Stewardship Project has attempted to unify local farmers and environmentalists around the shared goal of cleaning up the drinking water. The organization opened an office — one of its three — in Lewiston in 1985.
The office is one of a handful of active storefronts on Lewiston’s Main Street. It faces the sprawling complex belonging to Lewiston Feed and Produce, where trucks transport feed, seeds and fertilizer to area farms.
Land Stewardship Project hosts seminars on soil health practices that improve both water quality and a farmer’s bottom line. The group emphasizes peer-to-peer training, hosting events where farmers share their experiences with various environmentally friendly farming practices.
Land Stewardship Project leaders traditionally chose their fights carefully, only opposing the construction or expansion of livestock operations when they had specific concerns about the farm’s impact on water quality, said Doug Nopar, who led Land Stewardship Project’s organizing efforts in the area until 2021.
The fight over the Daley Farm expansion had been brewing for months before it came to the Winona County Board of Adjustment.
“It is all anybody is talking about,” said Rachel Stoll, one of the board members, when asked at the meeting if she’d had conversations about the proposed expansion. “But I’m trying to keep my mouth shut.”
The county attorney pointed out that three of the board’s five members, including Stoll, were members of Land Stewardship Project, which had already begun campaigning against the expansion. At the time of the meeting, the nonprofit was involved in a lawsuit against the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency over the dairy’s environmental review.
Before their appointment to the Board of Adjustment, Stoll and another member, Wendy Larson, submitted public comments to the MPCA in October 2018 criticizing the proposed expansion and encouraging the agency to perform a more thorough review of the project’s potential impact. Land Stewardship Project organized the campaign.
“Are you able to set aside your involvement with Land Stewardship Project, as well as any personal opinions that you may have, and base your decision in this matter solely on the record before you?” the county attorney asked.
“Yes,” the board members answered.
The three Land Stewardship Project members on the board ultimately voted together against the expansion request, blocking it.
A consolidating livestock system
SDGs, Targets, and IndicatorsSDGs Addressed:
- SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
- SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
- SDG 15: Life on Land
Specific Targets:
- SDG 6.3: By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater, and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally.
- SDG 12.4: By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water, and soil to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment.
- SDG 15.3: By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought, and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.
Indicators:
- Nitrate levels in well water
- Contamination of aquifers with nitrate
- Levels of nitrate pollution in drinking water
- Number of livestock operations exceeding local regulations
- Amount of manure produced by livestock operations
- Impact of livestock operations on water quality
- Number of fish kills or other incidents of water pollution related to livestock operations
Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
| SDGs | Targets | Indicators |
|---|---|---|
| SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation | Target 6.3: Improve water quality by reducing pollution | – Nitrate levels in well water – Contamination of aquifers with nitrate – Levels of nitrate pollution in drinking water |
| SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production | Target 12.4: Achieve environmentally sound management of chemicals and wastes | – Number of livestock operations exceeding local regulations – Amount of manure produced by livestock operations – Impact of livestock operations on water quality |
| SDG 15: Life on Land | Target 15.3: Combat desertification and restore degraded land | – Number of fish kills or other incidents of water pollution related to livestock operations |
Analysis
1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?
The issues highlighted in the article are connected to the following SDGs:
- SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, as the article discusses the contamination of well water with nitrate and the need to address water pollution.
- SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, as the article explores the impact of livestock operations on water quality and the need for environmentally sound management of chemicals and wastes.
- SDG 15: Life on Land, as the article mentions the potential impact of livestock operations on land degradation and incidents of water pollution.
2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?
Based on the article’s content, the specific targets that can be identified are:
- SDG 6.3: Improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping, and minimizing the release of hazardous chemicals and materials.
- SDG 12.4: Achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, and significantly reduce their release to air, water, and soil.
- SDG 15.3: Combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.
3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?
Yes, there are indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets. These indicators include:
- Nitrate levels in well water
- Contamination of aquifers with nitrate
- Levels of nitrate pollution in drinking water
- Number of livestock operations exceeding local regulations
- Amount of manure produced by livestock operations
- Impact of livestock operations on water quality
- Number of fish kills or other incidents of water pollution related to livestock operations
These indicators can be used to assess the progress made in improving water quality, managing chemicals and wastes, and combating land degradation.
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Fuente: minnesotareformer.com
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