In what has become a unique annual tradition, the Goodhue County Board of Commissioners came last week to Kenyon City Hall to hold its meeting there in front of former board member Dan Rechtziegel’s high school government class.
A nearly two-decade tradition now, the county board’s Kenyon meetings began as a way for Rechtziegel to provide his students the opportunity to see local government up close and personal, followed by an informational session on the different careers available to them in local government.
Initially, there was little that could be done, because under an antiquated state law dating back to the 1800s, all county business had to be conducted in the county seat. Rechtzigel and his county board colleagues successfully lobbied legislators to remove that restriction.
While they were there, students saw the Board of Commissioners approve an important application from a prominent local business. Bombay Dairy, located just off of Highway 60 between Kenyon and Wanamingo, secured a conditional use permit to expand and streamline its operations with a larger manure storage facility.
A CUP for the facility is necessitated, as it will be able to hold up to 3 million gallons of manure, far more than the 500,000 threshold for which a permit is required. The facility will be pumped each fall and the manure spread on land approved for such application.
The Lexvolds worked with Goodhue County Soil and Water Conservation to ensure the project and subsequent farm operations would be in full compliance with the feedlot application as well as laws Minnesota Pollution Control Agency regulations around manure.
The Goodhue County Board of Adjustment also heard a variance request to allow the project to move forward, even with an odor offset rate lower than the typically required 91%, as calculated under a complex formula based on distance from the house to the manure storage facility.
Under the formula, developed in the University of Minnesota, the project would have an odor offset rate of just 88%. However, a neighbor who attended the Board of Adjustment’s meeting argued it would likely reduce the farm’s odor.
Another neighbor voiced concerns about the project, arguing that it could potentially increase pollution in local lakes and streams. However, staff from the Goodhue County Soil and Water Conservation District maintain that the project would likely reduce the risk of pollution.
The Board of Adjustment ultimately approved the variance request after finding that the CUP could not move forward otherwise, and the county board followed suit, giving final unanimous approval to allow the manure storage facility’s construction.
Board member Brad Anderson said that the project would be environmentally beneficial not only by reducing manure spreading from daily to once a year and thus decreasing the potential for runoff, but also by moving from an earthen manure storage system to a concrete one.
Commissioner Todd Greseth, whose district includes Bombay Dairy, praised the Lexvolds for bringing forward the proposal and said it represents a robust investment which will leave the farm much more financially and environmentally sustainable for years to come.
“I just appreciate the family looking at the future of this farming operation,” Greseth said. “They are taking care of this, and this is definitely the correct direction to go.”
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