North Dakotans take care of the land we live on. That's not a political position — it's just who we are. So when a Minnesota company wants to park 25,000 cows right next to the Red River, and our own Department of Environmental Quality signed off on it without, in the eyes of many neighbors and local groups, fully accounting for the risk of manure runoff into one of our most important waterways, that's something our legislators need to hear about.
Judge Susan Bailey is hearing arguments right now about whether that permit should stand. The Red River drains into communities downstream — in North Dakota and beyond. One significant spill, one bad flood season pushing waste into that river, and we're talking about contaminated drinking water, dead fish, and a cleanup bill that North Dakota taxpayers could be on the hook for. Traill County farmers and families who depend on clean water didn't get a say proportionate to what they're risking. A 25,000-cow operation is not a family farm — it's an industrial facility, and it deserves to be treated like one when it comes to protecting our water.
I'm asking you to publicly support stronger environmental review requirements for large livestock operations near major waterways in North Dakota, and to make clear that our state agencies should not be rubber-stamping permits for facilities of this scale without rigorous, transparent public process.
Our water is worth more than a fast permit for an out-of-state corporation.
