A new waste treatment system, another financial penalty, limits on herd growth, enhanced reporting requirements, eventual closure of the Packard Road satellite lagoon, and the threat of new fines for unlawful discharges—those are among the points listed in a 62-page interim order announced June 6 in a Lansing circuit court.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Vreba-Hoff Dairy signed a settlement agreement June 6 to end legal action against dairy owners that began in January.

As in past settlements, accepting the document “does not constitute an admission by Vreba-Hoff that the law has been violated.” The DEQ has issued citations for discharges on numerous occasions since the first of two farms opened south of Hudson in 1998.

Vreba-Hoff will pay $180,000 in fines to the State of Michigan for violations and enforcement costs and must have a new waste treatment system in operation by Sept. 15. The new EarthMentor system—expected to cost in excess of $2 million—is described below.

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On-going problems with the press treatment system installed last summer contributed to a backlog of manure at the two Vreba-Hoff Dairy locations.

A settlement reached last week with the Michigan DEQ calls for installation of a new treatment system incorporating elements of a typical municipal system, along with enhancements to meet the needs of the dairy. The system is known as the EarthMentor Natural Nutrient Reclamation and Treatment System.

The six-step process is more extensive than many municipal systems, said Vreba-Hoff attorney Jack Van Kley, and it’s new for dairies to use this approach.