Drinking Water News Roundup: First Nation residents call settlement restrictive, Wisconsin towns try regulating big farms, Chicago cans tap water

Wisconsin:

• Kinnard Farms sues DNR over water quality requirements – Wisconsin Examiner

Kinnard Farms, one of Wisconsin’s largest dairy producers, has filed a lawsuit to challenge requirements that the operation test water quality near fields where manure has been spread. The lawsuit, filed on Earth Day against the Department of Natural Resources, comes weeks after the DNR announced that Kinnard Farms would be required to monitor groundwater.

• DNR project to improve Kewaunee’s public water system seeks public comments – Green Bay Press-Gazette

The project includes the replacement of lead service lines throughout the city. Activities related to this project are considered minor actions according to state code, and an environmental review required by federal government under program guidelines determined the project will not result in significant adverse environmental effects.

However, the public is encouraged to submit comments regarding this decision and its potential environmental impacts.

• In Wisconsin, small towns want more regulations for big farms – Grist

Over the past few months, Laketown and two nearby towns, Trade Lake and Eureka, have passed laws regulating how CAFOs can operate, requiring them to show how they will dispose of dead animals and avoid polluting groundwater. But these policies have faced stiff pushback from the state’s powerful agricultural lobby, which has called the new regulations illegal.