EGLE holds public hearing on draft NPDES permit for KB Dairy in Gratiot County

State environmental regulators presented a draft NPDES surface-water discharge permit for KB Dairy LLC at a virtual public hearing and invited public comments through Feb. 13, 2026.

Rebecca Mauer, an EGLE permit writer in the Water Resources Division, said the department is proposing an individual NPDES CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation) permit under Part 31 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act and related administrative rules (Part 21 and Part 4 water quality standards). Mauer said KB Dairys application proposes to house an average of about 2,000 mature dairy cattle and up to 3,450 at maximum and that the applicant plans to convey manure to an on-site anaerobic digester, return effluent to storage structures and transfer/manifests manure for land application. The draft permit requires quarterly land-application summary reports to be posted via EGLEs myEnviro portal, Mauer said.

Why it matters: Neighbors, environmental groups and legal advocates argued that the proposed facility sits adjacent to the existing DeSager Dairy and shared infrastructure and financing records raise questions about whether the operations effectively function as one enterprise. Petitioners said that practical integration could exacerbate cumulative impacts in the Pine River watershed and warrant groundwater permits, more site-specific conditions and mandatory groundwater…