Planning commission recommends amendment to feedlot CUP; petitioners to seek MPCA review before construction

The Winona County Planning Commission voted to recommend amendments to an existing conditional use permit (CUP 1232) for the Clerkcrest/Rob Miller feedlot operation, forwarding draft findings and five conditions to the county board.

Planning staff summarized the request as an amendment to previously authorized facilities rather than a brand-new feedlot permit. The petition seeks to change the previously-approved two-stage storage design (estimated 15.5 million gallons) to a single concrete liquid-manure storage area with about 11.25 million gallons capacity, relocate the proposed pit roughly 100 feet south and east of the older drawing, and increase the site’s animal-unit ceiling from 921.4 animal units to 988.6 animal units (proposed mix: approximately 699 dairy cows and 50 dairy calves cited in the application).

Staff and the applicant spent considerable time on karst (sinkhole) mapping and a karst investigation: the engineer performed backhoe pits and transect walks across a half-mile area and documented features labeled F1, F2 and several “E” features. One historic feature (F1) had been investigated years earlier and identified in county correspondence as burial of animal carcasses rather than active karst; field investigators reported no evidence of active sinkholes at key nearby points. Staff and the project engineer told the commission they believed the investigation steps taken were adequate; staff proposed a condition that the county not issue a feedlot permit for the construction of the liquid manure storage area (LMSA) until the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has completed its review of the LMSA design and verified that applicable design standards are satisfied.

Petitioner Rob Miller explained that the revised design uses concrete construction, which the applicant said he believed would be more robust than the previously-approved synthetic liner for the larger pit, and that moving the pit site increased separation from mapped bedrock. Miller said the pit, as designed, would store approximately 14 months’ worth of manure under current herd numbers and that the design was intended to meet more stringent CAFO-style bedrock separation recommendations even though the operation does not trigger CAFO permitting thresholds at the proposed unit count.

Commissioners asked about historical permitting (township-issued CUP in 2009 with a different animal-unit number), differences between the existing registered animal-unit ceiling and past paperwork, and the need for further technical review. Staff noted the county’s file contains prior permits and registrations (including a 2017 CUP that established 921.4 animal units) but that historic township approvals may exist; the commission placed emphasis on MPCA review before any county-issued construction feedlot permit is acted on.

The commission voted to recommend the amendment with the five conditions in the staff packet and included a condition explicitly requiring MPCA design review and verification before the county issues a feedlot construction permit. The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Winona County Board for final action; the county board is scheduled to meet on April 8, 2025.

Technical highlights and clarifications from the record: proposed single concrete LMSA capacity ~11.25 million gallons (less than earlier two-stage 15.5 million-gallon design); proposed animal unit ceiling 988.6 (increase from 921.4); extensive karst investigation with backhoe pits and transect surveys documented in the engineer’s report and associated correspondence; staff recommended MPCA design verification before a county feedlot permit would issue.

Next steps: If the county board approves the CUP amendment, the applicant must secure MPCA review clearance and then obtain a county feedlot permit and development certificate before constructing the LMSA.