Opponents of giant North Dakota dairy argue for permit reversal

HILLSBORO, N.D. — Opponents of what would be North Dakota’s largest dairy argued Monday that a state agency failed to do an adequate review of the environmental threats posed by the milking operation. 

Attorneys for Riverview LLP, the Minnesota-based company behind the 25,000-cow Herberg Dairy in Traill County, and the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality defended the work of the state agency, which issued an environmental permit in 2025.

While attorneys provided some back-and-forth on the value or liability posed by manure from 25,000 cows at a site just west of the Red River, East Central Judicial District Court Judge Susan Bailey said she was more interested in the legal arguments over whether the agency did an adequate review. 

“It’s not for me to judge the science,” said Bailey, who did not issue a ruling on the case Monday. 

The challenge to the environmental permit was brought by the Dakota Resource Council, an environmental and landowner rights group based in North Dakota. 

Attorney Dani Replogle of the environmental group Food and Water Watch, representing Dakota Resource Council, called the state agency process “deeply flawed” and said it ignored state law in multiple areas. 

She is asking Bailey to rescind the environmental permit and send the permit application back to the agency for further review. 

Replogle said the state agency is mandated to prevent pollution of waterways from both the storing and spreading of manure on farm fields near the dairy and also from stormwater collected at the dairy. 

She said Riverview’s plan for handling manure, known as a nutrient management plan, doesn’t require enough information about when and where the manure will be applied or take into account the effects of drainage systems in farm fields. She said in addition to potential nitrogen runoff from the manure, there are other possible pollutants, such as antibiotics given to dairy cows and disinfectants used in the barns. 

Replogle said DEQ and Riverview are essentially asking the public to “trust them” with Riverview responsible for most of the environmental monitoring required by the state. 

Environmental group challenging permit for 25,000-cow North Dakota dairy

Attorney Anine Merkens for the Department of Environmental Quality said the agency made findings on every aspect of the dairy’s application — design, construction and operation. 

She also said the agency replied to all comments raised during the permitting process. 

Attorney Andrew Dosdall for Riverview said the Department of Environmental Quality followed a “rational process” in its permit review. 

Dakota Resource Council attorneys also said DEQ should have required a federal discharge permit. Not doing so violates state law and the federal Clean Water Act, they argued. 

Attorneys for DEQ said the agency has no authority to require a federal permit unless there is a pollution discharge, which there won’t be. 

Riverview is still in the early stages of construction of the Herberg Dairy southeast of Hillsboro. 

The company is focused on construction of the Abercrombie Dairy in the southern Red River Valley, said Brady Janzen, who works on site development for Riverview Dairy. That 12,500-cow dairy will be northwest of Wahpeton. 

He said the plan is to have milk flowing from that facility by next summer. 

The Dakota Resource Council also challenged the environmental permit for the Abercrombie Dairy. But a judge ruled the Department of Environmental Quality was not properly served and dismissed the suit. 

Together, the two dairies would quadruple the number of milk cows in the state, which has seen the dairy industry shrink over several decades. 

Riverview, based in Morris, Minnesota, operates several large dairy operations in western Minnesota, though none as large as the planned Herberg Dairy in Traill County. 

Riverview is seeking to grow its operation near Morris to nearly 19,000 cows. 

Janzen, who attended the hearing, said the legal challenge in Traill County is another part of the permitting process. 

“We respect the process,” Janzen said. 

Reach North Dakota Monitor deputy editor Jeff Beach at [email protected]