One Week to Speak Up: What Price County Residents Need to Kn

One Week to Speak Up: What Price County Residents Need to Know Before United Pride Dairy’s Permit Deadline

Last updated: July 2026

By Price County Fun Editorial Team | Price County, Wisconsin

By Price County Fun Editorial Team | Last updated: July 3, 2026

United Pride Dairy operates roughly 5,365 animal units across two townships in Price County, producing roughly 39 million gallons of liquid manure each year. On July 10, 2026, the public comment window closes on the farm’s 5-year wastewater permit. After that, the Wisconsin DNR can finalize the permit without further input.

Five people requesting a hearing triggers a mandatory DNR informational session. As of today, we don’t know if that threshold has been met.

Here’s what’s at stake, what the permit documents actually say, and why this particular deadline matters more than most.

What Does United Pride Dairy’s Permit Actually Cover?

By Price County Fun Editorial Team | Reporting on Price County agriculture and environment since 2024

The Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, known as WPDES, governs how the farm stores, transports, and land-applies manure across 5,420 acres in the North Fork Jump River and Jump River watersheds. Everything that runs off those fields drains toward Cranberry Lake and the Jump River within the Chippewa River Watershed. The permit, if approved, runs from August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2031.

United Pride Dairy has held a CAFO permit continuously since September 2002. The operation spans two sites: the Main Site at W5993 Little Chicago Road in Phillips (Town of Worcester) and the Wanish Site at N5809 County Road J in Kennan. Roughly 2,608 milking and dry cows, 1,469 heifers, and 490 calves make up the herd, totaling approximately 5,365 animal units according to DNR documents.

The farm owns 1,472 acres of cropland and rents or contracts an additional 3,986 acres for manure spreading. That’s roughly 7,200 gallons of liquid manure per acre, annually, all land-applied in the same watershed system.

What Did the DNR Admit It Never Evaluated?

This is the detail that got buried in a 19-page Fact Sheet. The DNR’s own permit documents, prepared by Agricultural Runoff Management Specialist Ben Mrdutt and dated May 11, 2026, contain two explicit admissions.

In Section 2.10, the agency states: “Engineering evaluation of feed storage area (Wanish Farm) and associated runoff controls have been included per s. NR243.16(1) Wis. Admin. Code as the department has not previously evaluated this facility.” Section 2.12 repeats the admission for the Wanish Pit itself, a concrete-lined manure storage structure with an approximate capacity of 3.8 million gallons.

Translation: the DNR has never conducted an engineering evaluation of a 3.8-million-gallon manure pit or the associated feed storage area at the Wanish Site. The agency is now requiring a written evaluation report by October 30, 2027, plans to “permanently correct any adverse conditions” by April 30, 2028, and construction of corrections by November 30, 2029. Timeline gives the farm more than three years before any physical corrections are required.

The DNR’s choice of words matters here. “Permanently correct any adverse conditions” is agency language that anticipates finding problems. It doesn’t say “evaluate whether conditions are adverse.” It says correct them.

What Is the Kennan Pit and Why Does It Worry People?

The draft permit includes a new manure storage structure called the Kennan Pit, a concrete-lined facility with a 2-million-gallon capacity planned for construction in 2026. It would be the farm’s sixth manure storage pit, joining four existing pits at the Main Site (including an 11.7-million-gallon Stage 1 and 2 pit and a 5.8-million-gallon Stage 3 pit) and the 3.8-million-gallon Wanish Pit.

Here’s the part that critics are calling a backdoor approval. The DNR Fact Sheet, Section 2.18, states: “Construction of this structure is voluntary. There is not a construction due date that pertains to the structure. Post-construction documentation is only required if the structure is built.”

That means if the In general permit is approved, United Pride Dairy can build the Kennan Pit at any point during the five-year permit term without additional public notice, without a separate comment period, and without a standalone hearing. The structure is buried in a 33-page permit document, labeled “voluntary,” and effectively pre-approved.

The DNR documents make no mention of granite bedrock or blasting requirements for the Kennan Pit site, though Price County sits in the Precambrian granite region of northern Wisconsin where shallow bedrock is common. Whether blasting would be required is unknown from publicly available documents.

What About the Water Table and Soil Conditions?

The nutrient management plan approval letter reveals that 9 headland stacking sites (labeled UPD3 through UPD11) were denied specifically because of “shallow groundwater.” Four additional sites (UPD24, UPD25, UPD31, UPD32) were denied due to “nearby slopes.” These denials confirm that shallow groundwater is a documented concern across multiple fields in the land application area.

In 2015, the DNR issued a Notice of Noncompliance to United Pride Dairy for “not verifying depth to water table on W-soils before manure application.” That violation demonstrates that manure was applied without confirming adequate separation from groundwater, a direct pathway for contamination through macropore flow, the rapid movement of nutrients and bacteria through root channels, worm burrows, and soil fractures that bypass the soil’s natural filtering capacity.

The draft permit now requires field checks for “soil areas with possible shallow groundwater (i.e., within 24 inches of surface)” before manure application. It also includes a Silurian Bedrock provision, indicating fractured bedrock is a concern in the application area. Fractured bedrock is another conduit for macropore flow.

According to the environmental advocacy group Clean Wisconsin, an estimated 80,000 private wells across the state have unsafe nitrate levels, with agriculture responsible for roughly 90% of nitrate pollution in groundwater. Whether United Pride Dairy’s operations have contributed to local well contamination is not documented in publicly available DNR data, but the conditions that lead to contamination are clearly present.

What’s Happening With the Fatal Crash and ARIP Grant?

On August 28, 2025, a United Pride Dairy semi-truck collided with a pickup truck at the intersection of Highway 13 and Highway 111 in the Town of Worcester. Two people died. Federal inspectors conducted an inspection that same day and logged 17 violations against the carrier. FMCSA records confirm United Pride Dairy LLC (USDOT 1009930) had one crash in the 24-month reporting period with two fatalities.

The FMCSA SAFER system shows the carrier operates 18 power units with 40 drivers as a private carrier, meaning they transport their own dairy products. LoadWrap.com, which aggregates FMCSA data, shows 5 total inspections over the 24-month reporting period, not 1 as some sources have claimed. The carrier has no assigned safety rating, which is typical for private carriers.

Six months after the crash, the Town of Worcester accepted a $1.83 million Agricultural Road Improvement Program grant to rebuild Little Chicago Road, the road that runs past United Pride Dairy’s front door. The total project cost is $2,087,555.40, with the state covering $1,830,786.09 (87.7%) and the town contributing $256,769.31.

Town Supervisor Jeremy Pesko oversees the municipality where the dairy operates and where the road project is taking place. Wisconsin Statute 946.13 makes it a Class I felony for a public official to participate in a contract where they have a private financial interest, and any contract entered in violation is void, not voidable. Whether Pesko has a documented ownership interest in United Pride Dairy LLC has not been independently confirmed through WDFI corporate filings, but the geographic and operational connections are not in dispute.

For our full investigation into the crash, the grant, and the statute, see our earlier reporting here.

What Is the EEOC Case About?

In December 2025, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit in the Western District of Wisconsin against United Pride Dairy. Case No. 3:25-cv-1030 alleges systemic violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, including national origin discrimination against Mexican nationals employed on TN visas, sexual harassment of female workers, and a manager who told workers “Americans are lazy.”

The EEOC alleges the dairy used TN visas, which are intended for professionals in specific occupational categories, to obtain workers who were then placed in laborer roles rather than the professional positions promised to secure the visas. If true, that constitutes visa fraud, a separate federal offense.

The case is ongoing. For our detailed coverage of the EEOC allegations, read our earlier report here.

How Does This Permit Connect to the Other Investigations?

Three separate legal and regulatory actions are converging on the same operation. The WPDES permit governs how 39 million gallons of annual manure gets managed across 5,420 acres of Northwoods landscape with documented shallow groundwater and fractured bedrock. The EEOC case addresses alleged workplace discrimination and visa fraud involving 40 drivers and an unknown number of dairy workers. The ARIP grant and Statute 946.13 question whether a town supervisor’s role in a $1.83 million road project creates a conflict of interest.

None of these proceedings depend on each other. But together they paint a picture of a large operation operating with minimal oversight across multiple regulatory domains. The DNR hasn’t evaluated the manure pit. The FMCSA hasn’t rated the carrier’s safety. The EEOC alleges systematic exploitation. And the Town of Worcester accepted a seven-figure road grant that directly benefits the dairy’s transportation route.

The permit deadline is the only one of these proceedings with a concrete date attached. July 10 is the last day to submit comments or request a hearing.

How Do You Submit Comments or Request a Hearing?

Written comments can be sent to Ben Mrdutt, DNR, 1300 W Clairemont Ave, Eau Claire, WI 54701. Email: [email protected]. Phone: (715) 495-9377 (direct line). General inquiries: (715) 492-4465.

A public informational hearing is required if 5 or more persons submit a request. Requests must include your name, address, interest in the permit, reasons for the request, and the specific issues you want considered.

The draft permit, 33-page Fact Sheet, and nutrient management plan approval letter are available on the DNR website at dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Wastewater/PublicNotices.html. The permit documents are also available for review at the DNR’s Eau Claire office, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Copies cost 15 cents per page; scanning costs 7 cents per page.

The deadline is July 10, 2026. Comments must be received within 30 days of the June 10, 2026 publication date, not postmarked by that date.

What Has United Pride Dairy Said About Any of This?

Not much, publicly. The farm’s website describes its history as a partnership established in 1996, operating across the Main Site and Wanish Site. The DNR’s 2025 production area site inspection found the farm in substantial compliance with its existing WPDES CAFO permit, according to a compliance determination by DNR Regional Watershed Supervisor Brad Johnson on May 1, 2026.

But substantial compliance with a permit is not the same as a clean environmental record. The 2015 noncompliance for failing to verify water table depth before manure application happened under the same permit framework. The DNR’s own Fact Sheet now requires evaluations that should have been done years ago, using language that anticipates finding “adverse conditions” that need permanent correction.

United Pride Dairy has not publicly responded to the EEOC allegations beyond standard legal responses. The farm has not publicly addressed the 17 FMCSA violations recorded on the day of the fatal crash. And Jeremy Pesko has not publicly addressed the Statute 946.13 questions surrounding his role as town supervisor and the ARIP grant.

Silence is not a defense. But in rural Wisconsin, where the largest employer in a township often holds outsized influence over local government, silence often works as well as one.

See also: our weekend weather preview

FAQ: United Pride Dairy WPDES Permit and Public Comment

When is the deadline for public comments on United Pride Dairy’s permit?

July 10, 2026. Comments must be received by that date, not postmarked. Written comments can be emailed to [email protected] or mailed to Ben Mrdutt, DNR, 1300 W Clairemont Ave, Eau Claire, WI 54701.

How many people need to request a hearing?

Five or more persons must submit a written request for the DNR to schedule a public informational hearing. Requests must include your name, address, interest in the permit, reasons for the request, and the issues you want considered.

What is the Kennan Pit?

A proposed 2-million-gallon concrete-lined manure storage facility in Kennan Township. It would be the farm’s sixth storage pit. The DNR Fact Sheet describes construction as “voluntary” with no deadline, meaning if the In general permit is approved, the pit can be built at any time during the 5-year permit term without additional public review.

Has the DNR evaluated all of United Pride Dairy’s manure storage facilities?

No. The DNR’s own Fact Sheet explicitly states that the Wanish Pit and Wanish Farm feed storage area have not been previously evaluated by the department. Engineering evaluations are now required under the new permit, with a written report due October 30, 2027, and construction of corrections due November 30, 2029.

What happens to the $1.83 million ARIP grant if Statute 946.13 was violated?

Wisconsin Statute 946.13(3) states that a contract entered in violation of the statute is void, not voidable. If a court determines the ARIP grant contract was made in violation, it was never legally valid, and the state could seek to claw back the $1.83 million. Determination would require a formal investigation or legal challenge.

Sources: Wisconsin DNR WPDES Draft Permit, Fact Sheet, and Public Notice for United Pride Dairy LLC (WI-0062197-01-0), prepared by Ben Mrdutt, May 11, 2026; FMCSA SAFER System (USDOT 1009930); LoadWrap.com FMCSA data aggregator; EWG Farm Subsidy Database; Town of Worcester official website; Wisconsin Legislature Statute 946.13; EEOC case No. 3:25-cv-1030, Western District of Wisconsin; 715Newsroom.com crash report; Clean Wisconsin nitrate data.

See also: our complete guide to the WPDES permit renewal for full permit details.

See also: our full coverage of the Worcester gravel pit controversy for related local governance issues.

See also: our guide to Price County public records for how to access government documents.

For a different side of Northwoods life, our sister site borrachos.bar covers Wisconsin bar culture and data.