Posted on 07/20/2004 9:27:13 AM PDT by Chummy
Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation: Farm Groups Join Forces to Fight for Cranberry Grower Against Nuisance Lawsuit by Attorney General
7/19/2004
MADISON, JULY 20 2004-Nine agriculture groups have joined with the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation in filing a motion to intervene as defendants in order to fight a nuisance lawsuit filed by Wisconsin's Attorney General against a Sawyer County cranberry grower.
A lawsuit recently was filed by the Wisconsin Department of Justice and 15 out-of-state landowners in Sawyer County Circuit Court against the grower, claiming his cranberry operation released phosphorus into Musky Bay as the result of his application of fertilizer on his cranberry bogs.
The groups joining with the Farm Bureau in the motion to interview include:
Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives;
Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association;
Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association;
Dairy Business Association;
Wisconsin Agri-Service Association;
Wisconsin Pork Association;
Midwest Food Processors Association;
Wisconsin Corn Growers Association;
and Wisconsin Cattlemen's Association
Two weeks ago the Attorney General refused to consent to a request by the Farm Bureau to enter the case as an intervening party, thereby requiring the Wisconsin Farm Bureau and other agriculture group members to file a formal motion to intervene. The groups will have a hearing on the motion to intervene on Monday, August 2 before Judge John Anderson in Washburn.
"The Farm Bureau and the other agricultural organizations recognize how this lawsuit could undermine Wisconsin's right to farm law," said Paul Zimmerman, Executive Director of Governmental Relations for the Farm Bureau.
"If the Attorney General prevails in her nuisance lawsuit against this law-abiding farmer, all other law-abiding farmers could be open to nuisance lawsuits regardless if they are in compliance with state or federal programs," Zimmerman said.
"The action by the Attorney General to oppose farm groups from joining in this case is an attempt to muzzle the rights of farmers to stick up for each other against nuisance harassment by the state and out-of-state property owners," said Zimmerman. "The Attorney General's attempt to keep the Farm Bureau and other agriculture groups locked out of a lawsuit in which they seek to support the legal rights of a Wisconsin cranberry grower will only serve to increase everyone's legal costs and potentially delay resolving the lawsuit," noted Zimmerman.
According to the Farm Bureau, the cranberry grower has not been accused of violating any environmental law or committing any pollution violation by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) or the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). Also, a 1999 report by the University of Wisconsin-Madison of the cranberry operation showed that water leaving the cranberry bogs was actually cleaner than water entering the bogs.
Every month or so, sometimes more, the milwaukee sewerage district pumps millions and millions of gallons of 'partially treated' sewage (really human waste mixed with rain water) into lake michigan.
The state attorney general has never done anything about it.
Because the MMSD is essentially run by the milwaukee mayor's office, which is run by a democrat.
the left are nothing but hypocrites.
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