Agriculture
NE Iowa dairy fined for eliminating pollution control without permission
A dairy farm in northeast Iowa will pay a $100,000 fine for violating air-quality standards.
The Prairie Farms Dairy of Luana, in Clayton County, also will have to install pollution control equipment, under a consent decree signed by a district judge.
The Iowa Attorney General’s office says the cheese plant in Luana removed an anti-pollution device called a baghouse more than 10 years ago, without getting a permit first.
Now, the dairy company has agreed to install a new baghouse, costing $1.4 million.
The cheese factory had operated as Swiss Valley Farms, until a merger with Prairie Farms last year.