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Litchfield seeks $10M grant for cooperative’s wastewater pretreatment to meet MPCA compliance
Summary
Representative Scott Van Binsbergen and First District Association’s CEO told the committee that a $10 million PFA grant is needed to build a pretreatment system so the cooperative can meet Minnesota Pollution Control Agency timelines and continue processing milk from 40 counties.
Representative Scott Van Binsbergen and Bob Hoffman, CEO of First District Cooperative in Litchfield, asked the committee on Feb. 27 to consider a $10 million grant through the Public Facilities Authority so First District can build a pretreatment wastewater system and meet compliance timelines imposed by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Hoffman said First District is the largest milk processor in Minnesota, processing roughly 7.5–8.5 million pounds of milk per day and producing cheese and powder used in national and global food products. He told the committee that farmers and the cooperative previously invested about $46 million in wastewater infrastructure but that post‑expansion flows and MPCA compliance obligations require an additional pretreatment facility estimated at roughly $50 million; First District said it lacks the borrowing capacity or equity to complete the work without assistance.
Nut graf: Hoffman said the city’s public treatment plant could not be upgraded on the schedule or at a reasonable cost to meet MPCA compliance; the cooperative therefore proposes to build a pretreatment facility on city‑owned land adjacent to the city plant and requested a $10 million grant to the PFA to complete that work.
Hoffman emphasized the economic stakes: First District represents about 40% of Minnesota’s milk receipts and supports roughly 600 member farms; he warned that if the plant is forced to derate production to meet effluent limits, it could significantly reduce milk intake and affect regional farm incomes.
Ending: The committee heard that the cooperative proceeded with planning to meet MPCA schedules and that the requested grant would be structured through PFA; no funding decision was made at the hearing.
