The potential environmental impact of industrial-style farms received another look in North Dakota recently. A panel that helps oversee the Red River Basin, including its reach into Canada, heard concerns about planned mega-dairies.

North Dakota recently approved permits sought by Riverview LLP, which is beginning work on two separate dairy farms with large herd sizes near the Red River. Environmental groups remain worried about animal waste finding its way into this large waterway. They warn of drinking water in local towns being affected, as well as connecting lakes over in Canada.

Sam Wagner, senior ag and food field organizer for the Dakota Resource Council, said neighboring Minnesota can’t be overlooked, either.

“If there is contamination of the aquifers in the Red River Basin, that (pollution) doesn’t care about state boundaries,” he said.

His group recently filed a lawsuit, alleging that the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality issued one of Riverview’s permits without the necessary pollution controls. The company insists that the project in question will include multiple safeguards to ensure manure is responsibly handled, stored and applied in accordance with state regulations.

A Thursday, Nov. 6 meeting led by the Red River Basin Commission Board was held in Grand Forks. Wagner’s group would like to see these permits overturned but acknowledges that might be a longshot. He said they do feel strongly about compelling the state to add tougher language.

“A victory for us would be getting these permits modified to make sure that these environmental standards are followed very strictly,” he said.

According to the Dakota Resource Council, the combined projects would generate more than 300 million gallons of animal waste annually before it’s stored in lagoons and then spread on about 43,000 acres of cropland in the Red River Valley. Farms partnering with Riverview contend that manure has been valuable to them as a natural fertilizer, allowing them to cut back on commercial products.