DE PERE, Wis. (WFRV) – A large concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) in De Pere has reached a settlement for its violations of Wisconsin’s wastewater laws.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) made the announcement on Friday that a settlement was reached with Ledgeview Farms LLC, Ledgeview Facility LLC, Roy Pansier, Glen Pansier, and Jason Pansier that requires them to pay $320,000 to resolve violations committed.

The release describes that Ledgeview Farms operated their large CAFO for years without the legally required Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES permit).

Authorities claim that during that time, the defendants allegedly repeatedly allowed manure and wastewater from their farm to enter nearby waterways.

Even after Ledgeview Farms obtained a WPDES permit, authorities say they continued to violate multiple requirements in that permit, including by continuing to allow manure and wastewater to go into nearby waterways.

Wastewater from this feed storage area contaminated a waterway that flows through a residential neighborhood at least twice during October 2019.

Ledgeview Farms did not have adequate manure storage also and “failed to upgrade or stop using numerous facilities that did not comply with applicable engineering standards.”

“Those who break our laws and pollute Wisconsin water should be held to account,” said Attorney General Josh Kaul. “Thank you to the DOJ and DNR public servants that fought for clean water in Brown County.”

The settlement was approved by the Brown County Circuit Court on February 28. It requires Ledgeview Farms to pay $320,000 in forfeitures, surcharges, court costs, and attorney fees. The CAFO was also required to stop using a feed storage area that does not sufficiently capture wastewater runoff.

Defendants were either found liable by the court or admitted their liability on all 19 violations alleged by the state.