Vernon County committee to fund additional well and baseline testing after public objections to landfill expansion

Viroqua — Members of the Vernon County Infrastructure Committee voted to proceed with an additional groundwater-monitoring well and baseline sampling tied to a proposed expansion of the county landfill, after more than an hour of public comment urging the county not to expand the site.

Residents filled the committee meeting to express concerns about groundwater contamination, karst geology and long-term health and economic impacts. Several speakers urged the county to cap and close the landfill rather than expand it. "The most important is, first, do no harm," said Monica Matos, a Viroqua resident, during public comment.

The committee heard a technical briefing from the project's consultants. Consultant Brian Kent summarized the engineering team's view: "Nothing has changed from our interpretation of the groundwater flow pattern and the location since we submitted our initial feasibility study," and said the DNR requested one additional well to the east to confirm groundwater flow and the adequacy of the monitoring network.

The committee recorded preliminary cost estimates for the work. Cascade Drilling provided a drilling estimate of $42,985; the engineering and related consulting work by the consultant team was estimated at roughly $63,000, for a combined preliminary total of about $106,000. County staff also advised the DNR could assess an additional review fee; committee members discussed a possible further fee of roughly $24,000, though the DNR had not yet confirmed any extra charge.

Committee members voted to move forward with the investigation and to refer the funding request to the Finance Committee for identification of a funding source. Committee discussion noted that the funding could be drawn from the county general fund reserve or other sources and that the finance committee would review and recommend next steps. The committee emphasized the investigation is intended to collect the additional data the DNR requested and to support any subsequent permit completeness determination.

The consultants and county staff described the expected schedule: drilling the additional well would likely take place in spring if weather and contracting allow; baseline groundwater monitoring requires multiple sampling rounds (the consultants estimated four baseline samples spaced over months) to meet regulatory expectations before a final DNR completeness determination can proceed. The DNR's final position on whether this triggers a new review cycle or requires additional review fees remained pending.

The public comment portion of the meeting included residents who cited local testing records and raised specific concerns about contaminants and PFAS; the consultant and staff said existing monitoring to date has not demonstrated landfill-related groundwater contamination but agreed more data will clarify uncertainties. Committee members asked staff and consultants to keep the public informed about the timeline and opportunities for further input.

Next steps: contract drilling and engineering work, complete baseline rounds, submit the additional data to DNR and await their determination. The committee will ask the Finance Committee to identify temporary funding and whether the landfill enterprise fund should reimburse the county general fund later.