North Dakota
Report says proposed dairy operation will impact groundwater near Abercrombie
ABERCROMBIE, N.D. — A private study says the
proposed dairy cattle operation near Abercrombie
poses serious risks to the area’s ground and surface water.
David Erickson, a principal hydrologist with Water and Environmental Technologies, a consulting firm with offices in Montana and Wyoming, recently finished a study of the proposal and its potential impacts on groundwater near a proposed 12,500-head dairy operation by Riverview Farms, a Morris, Minnesota-based dairy corporation.
The Dakota Resource Council and residents of Abercrombie are asking the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality to consider the study report and include it as part of the permit application submitted by Riverview Farms.
Riverview Farms hopes to build a $90 million facility just south of Abercrombie in Richland County.
It is also proposing a $180 million, 25,000-head operation southeast of Hillsboro
in Traill County. The two proposals would quadruple the number of dairy cattle in North Dakota, which the North Dakota Department of Agriculture estimates at just 10,000 cows across 24 dairy operations.
The facility would be 1.4 miles from the Wild Rice River and 1.8 miles from the Red River, on top of the Wahpeton Buried Valley Aquifer, which supplies drinking water to 28 domestic wells within a two-mile radius, as well as the communities of Abercrombie, Wahpeton and Breckenridge, Minnesota.
“By granting this permit, North Dakota is permitting and encouraging the polluting of thousands of acres around the proposed Abercrombie Dairy,” Erickson said in the report.
Riverview officials could not be reached for comment on the report.
Erickson studied Riverview’s permit application and identified contaminants commonly found in dairy lagoons, such as nitrates, hormones, antibiotics and pesticides that also have been found in drinking water wells near other cattle facilities in Washington, Wisconsin and California.
“The current permit application for the Abercrombie Dairy fails to protect North Dakota’s surface water due to insufficient requirements for manure application locations, timing and methods,” said Erickson in the report. “This facility directly threatens the Red River, the Wild Rice River and Antelope Creek.”
Erickson said that a proposed 24-foot-deep, clay-lined lagoon that can hold 106.7 million gallons of manure each year is compliant with North Dakota livestock regulations, however, the regulations do not require monitoring wells to detect potential leakage. Erickson said he has studied lagoon seepage since 1988 and based on his experience and other research, he expects the two lagoons will leak much more than the less than half-inch of wastewater leakage projected by Riverview’s permit.
“Given that the water table sits just two feet below the lagoon bottom, the 22 inches of annual seepage will contaminate the water table in just over a year,” Erickson said in his report.
Erickson counted fields that would receive some of the manure as fertilizer and 42 of the fields have direct connections to tributaries, 10 border Antelope Creek, 15 border the Wild Rice River and three are adjacent to the Red River.
“Acute and immediate impacts to water quality will result from application of manure in the volume and locations described in the permit,” Erickson said.
He also noted that residents will likely have to contend with other side effects of applying the manure produced by the dairy operation to nearby fields.
“The odor from the application process is overwhelming and rancid for days after the application regardless of the application method,” Erickson said. “Nearby residents will have to contend with rancid odors, spills and releases on the roadways from hauling, additional manure truck traffic and routine misapplication by farm personnel.”
Riverview staff have said the facilities will create jobs, expecting to employ 45 people, many of whom would be internal hires. The company expects the farm would increase job opportunities for other vocations, such as truck drivers and manure applicators.
Residents, who have called themselves Abercrombie Citizens for Responsible Growth, along with the Dakota Resource Council,
have been meeting regularly since this fall
to discuss and voice concerns about what the operation would do the water supple and quality of live in and around the town of about 261 people. They have requested the state Department of Environmental Quality address the concerns and they have formally requested a public meeting to review the findings.
Abercrombie Citizens for Responsible Growth said the community plans to meet once again at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 10, at the community center.
North Dakota
Wintering Well Series Back For Another Season At McKenzie Co. Heritage Park & North Dakota Oil Museum
For those who are looking for community interaction, interested in learning an old-fashioned skill, or just simply looking for a way to offset those winter blues, join McKenzie County Heritage Park & North Dakota Oil Museum, 904 2nd Ave. SW, Watford City, for another season of Wintering Well: Slow Down & Savor. Classes begin Jan. 2, 2026, and will continue the first Friday of each month through the winter, 5-7 p.m. CT..
The holiday season is a time where many remember and honor past traditions, though it can also be a time where the usual business of life gets ramped up. In this modern word, we are heavily inundated with outside pressures that tell us to “keep busy and work harder”. Technology can be a constant pull, drawing us away from quiet connection.
But, for many of the people who settled and lived in this region before us, life, the holidays and winter in general carried a different feeling altogether. The winter season was often a time that was looked forward to and folks seemed more willing to go along with nature rather than struggling against it. Winter is a time of rest and renewal. A time for life to slow, and strength and energy to be gathered for spring, summer and fall. With the cold winter outside their doors, people were content to sit by the fire, catch up with friends and family, and engage in pastimes that were both fun and functional.
These Hygge style Wintering Well evenings offer an opportunity to slow down and savor this time of year. Bring a crocheting, knitting or embroidery project or start a new one. Even if you have no experience with these skills, bring a crochet hook and some yarn and other participants can help you get started. In addition to learning new skills and practicing existing ones, there is good conversation to share, new relationships to foster and snacks will be served.
These classes are intended for adults, but tweens who want to learn are welcome to come along with their parents. There is no charge to join, but donations are always welcome.
Take a step back from technology and busy schedules to reconnect with the old-fashioned life at these cozy, creative sessions, and Winter Well this season.
For more information, visit McKenzie County Heritage Park & North Dakota Oil Museum’s Facebook page or call them at 701-842-6434.
North Dakota
‘Changed me and saved me’: AIR program in North Dakota helps those in recovery
EDITOR’S NOTE: For help with substance abuse or addiction, North Dakota residents can contact the All of Us In Recovery program at
allofusinrecovery.com
or the North Dakota Department of Human Services at
hhs.nd.gov/behavioral-health
. National help is also available at 1-800-662-4357.
FARGO — A special program for those battling addiction in North Dakota is finding huge successes with a state program called “All of Us In Recovery,” or AIR.
The proof can be found in the lives now changed because of the team approach.
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