Commissioners approve Wagner Dairy anaerobic digester and manure‑handling change after public hearing and MPCA review

The Meeker County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 19 approved two conditional use permits for Wagner Dairy that will allow construction and operation of an anaerobic digester and a change to on‑site manure handling.

Greg Schultz, Meeker County land use director, summarized the planning record and the public hearing. He said the digester will be located on roughly 21.9 acres of a southwest 75‑acre parcel within a two‑parcel site totaling about 155 acres and that the project has a multi‑year permit and expansion history dating to 2005. "Manure will then move process facilities to be dispensed into site storage," Schultz said. He explained the digester will accept manure and certain industrial food byproducts; the digestate can be used as fertilizer and the site has storage capacity within its basins to handle digestate and process material.

Schultz said the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency completed the environmental assessment worksheet (EAW) process for the project and on Aug. 12, 2025 issued a final ruling that "there were no potential significant environmental effects reasonably expected to occur" and concluded an environmental impact statement was not required.

What the permits allow and key details

- Conditional Use Permit 16635: Approve construction and operation of an anaerobic digester to produce raw natural gas on property in the A‑1 Agricultural Preservation District in Forest City Township. Approved by motion; permit conditions and monitoring will be issued by planning staff.

- Conditional Use Permit 16636: Approve changes to feedlot manure handling at the same site so manure is routed through the digester and processed before on‑site storage and field application. Approved by motion.

- Site and operations: The digester project includes new infrastructure listed in the planning packet — solids separation building, hydrolysis tanks, anaerobic digester tanks, storage basins, boiler and backup generator, biogas upgrader and flare, buffer tanks, truck scale and reception area, transformer, air treatment, and analytical/distribution areas. Schultz described the facility as designed to remove impurities (hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide and trace VOCs) from the raw gas prior to upgrading; "Excess CO2 will exit through the tail gas stack of the biogas upgrader," he said.

- Odor and road impacts: Schultz said anaerobic digestion generally reduces odor compared with untreated liquid manure. He also said Vanguard Renewables and the applicants addressed road‑use concerns and that Vanguard had committed to road upgrades where needed, per the planning summary presented to the board. Vanguard representatives, including Steve Liberton, attended the public hearing and answered residents’ questions.

Regulatory review and public input

Schultz said the project went through the MPCA EAW process; the agency determined no environmental impact statement was necessary. The county held a public hearing with a large attendance and "mostly inquisitive" comments rather than organized opposition, Schultz said. Commissioners who visited a comparable facility in Wisconsin reported the site visit helped them ask technical questions and assess expected operations.

Planning and zoning context

Schultz confirmed the parcel will remain in the agricultural zoning district (A‑1) and that any tax classification questions (commercial vs. agricultural tax treatment) will be handled by the assessor and are separate from county zoning. When Commissioner Schmidt asked whether the parcel would be rezoned commercial, Schultz said, "It'll be still still agri zone." Commissioners discussed prior feedlot permits and expansions in 2005 (up to 480 animal units), 2013 (499 units), 2014 (784 units), and May 2021 (maximum of 990 animal units), as recorded in the planning summary.

Board action and next steps

Two motions were made and carried during the meeting: approval of CUP 16635 (anaerobic digester) and approval of CUP 16636 (manure‑handling change). Planning staff will issue permit documents, record permit conditions, and monitor compliance. The board recorded no recorded dissent; both motions carried.

Ending

County staff noted ongoing monitoring responsibilities and follow‑up tasks including documentation, public notice of permit conditions, and infrastructure work required by the permits. Residents and commissioners will receive further information through planning staff as implementation proceeds.