Minnesota Urged to Confront Climate Impacts of Riverview Dairy Expansion
LEAP’s Climate Change and Animal Agriculture Legal Initiative (CCAALI) joined partner organizations to urge the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to require a full Environmental Impact Statement for Riverview, LLP’s proposed dairy expansion. If approved, the expansion would make the site the largest-ever dairy facility in the state of Minnesota, housing nearly 19,000 cows. In comments, the organizations warned that the project would generate significant greenhouse gas emissions that were inadequately analyzed in the Environmental Assessment Worksheet.
“Industrial animal agriculture is one of Minnesota’s most significant and under-addressed climate challenges. Agriculture is the state’s second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, and animal agriculture — especially large-scale dairy production — is a major driver of methane and nitrous oxide pollution,” Laura Fox, deputy director of the Climate Change and Animal Agriculture Legal Initiative, said. “If Minnesota is serious about meeting its climate goals, it cannot continue approving massive feedlot expansions and must fully account for their climate impacts.”
