You really have to wonder if a confined animal feedlot operation (CAFO) runs the planet. Case in point, what in the world does the owner of Excel Dairy in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, have to do before government officials smack him down?

Fair Food Fight reported on Excel Dairy back in 2008, when the dairy became the first CAFO in Minnesota to be declared a public health hazard -- so noxious and obnxious is Excel, that even the Minnesota Milk Producers Association hung them out to dry.)

A year later, it's only gotten worse. So far in 2009, the dairy has wracked up over 100 fines (the dairy was issued over 500 last year, so that's an improvement), emissions of hydrogen sulfide have exceeded the state maximum, several evacuations have taken place, and, in June and July, Excel was ordered by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to empty two of its three manure lagoons. Luckily, there have been no cattle on the operation this year, giving the land and the neighbors a bit of a rest.

Bafflingly, Pollution Control officials could have put a stop to all this back in April but didn't. At an emotional MPCA Board meeting April 2009 to discuss whether or not to issue a new permit to Excel, owner/operator Rick Milner told the board that he wouldn't or couldn't comply with any conditions requiring him to clean up his own mess.

Owner Rick Millner testified that there was no money to clean up and fix the problems at the dairy. Millner estimated that the improvements would cost three quarters of a million dollars to one million dollars. [MPCA] fines could run up to a million dollars. When asked if they would comply with a new permit Millner Responded "as stated I do not think we can." Kevin Stroup attorney from Marshall Minnesota for Excel dairy was asked once again if the board voted to revoke and reissue the permit today if the Dairy would abide by the conditions of the permit, He [sic] responded "it will be going direct to the court of appeals."

Despite Milner's efforts to give MPCA every reason to deny him, the permit was issued anyway, and Milner has plans to move 1500 heads back onto the dairy in January and resume bolstering his manure lagoons in 2010. According to MinnPost's Ron Way, the state could have evoked its "superfund" law to clean up the mess and bill the dairy. But didn't.

A new permit will be needed but obviously that's not smuch of a stumbling block for Milner. Granted, Excel Dairy has been given until October 31, 2009, to really, really, finally, absolutely comply with MPCA orders.

Ron Way of MinnPost has a great article on why there's such a bureaucratic snarl when it comes to taking action against CAFOs generally and Excel Dairy in particular -- the state has a history of bowing to agriculture, according to Way. But when it comes to public health, who's in charge here and whose needs are paramount, the people's or a CAFO operator's? If Minnesotans can't trust our own Pollution Control Agency to protect our health and general welfare, who do we trust in a health emergencyregarding pollution? The MN Health Department has done its part, recommending that MPCA should do the obvious and enforce its own gol dang permits. But if MPCA simply won't do it, for whatever reason, which freaking agency needs to be brought in to slap this dairy down? The FBI? ATF? The counter-terrorism unit?

I'm sure you'll be shocked to hear that, despite the Minnesota Department of Health recording gross and lengthy exceedences of the state's hydrogen sulfide levels, Excel Dairy's Rick Milner strongly disputes that people are actually getting sick from his CAFO's hydrogen sulfide emissions.

"Let's be clear here, there's no public health hazard," Milner said.

Well, as long as Rick says so, lets get bossy back on the farm, by all means. But just to play devil's advocate, if the dairy poses no hazard to Milner's neighbors, why is his company paying for hotel rooms when the hydrogen sulfide plumes are raging? Sounds like an admission of a serious problem to me.

At the April MPCA meeting, a neighbor of Excel Dairy's, Mona Loe, told the Pollution Control Board how terrible the odor and living conditions were, but that she didn't trust the them to do anything about it:

Citing Milner's declarations that he has decided what pieces of his permit he will obey, Loe asked "why doesn't this board just let him write his write his own permit?"

Houston?