KEWAUNEE, Wis. (WFRV) – There was an update on the charges that were filed against three people in an allegedly overspreading manure incident in Kewaunee County.
According to court records, there have been changes to the three cases against people involved in an alleged overspreading manure incident in Kewaunee County. Originally, three people were charged.
- Johannes Wakker
- Owner of a dairy farm
- Gregory Stodola
- Hired to spread manure on Wakker’s land
- Benjamin Koss
- Consultant hired by Wakker to file a required report about the manure spreading
Court records show that on February 2, the charges were dismissed for both Wakker and Koss. However, the charges against Stodola (who is the husband of Local 5’s Milliane Wells) were not dismissed.
Stodola is now only facing three charges of Pollution-Wilful Water Discharge. An amended complaint back in January removed some of the previous charges. Stodola is scheduled to be back in court on March 7 for his initial appearance.
It is alleged that Stodola spread the manure on multiple fields, but the amount ‘so far exceeded’ what Wakker’s permit allowed. This reportedly resulted in pollution discharges into tributaries leading to Lake Michigan with E. Coli bacteria readings up to 100 times those that would result in closing a public beach.
Due to the large amount of manure spread exceeding the amount allowed by Wakker’s DNR permit, Stodola allegedly created a document that ‘grossly underreported’ the manure that was actually spread. This number was allegedly underreported by over 1.9 million gallons.
This document was then allegedly given to Wakker, who then gave it to Koss. Koss was a consultant hired by Wakker to file a required report with the DNR about the manure spreading. It is alleged that Koss knew the information was false and manipulated the numbers even more to ‘calibrate the books’.
Local 5 reached out to the Wisconsin Department of Justice who said the investigation into this case is still ongoing.
This story will be updated as more information is released.
