Minnesota is on the verge of approving the largest livestock farm in state history — and the public deserves to know what that really means before it's too late.

Riverview, a major dairy company, is seeking permits to expand a facility near Morris, MN to house more than 18,000 animals. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is currently reviewing the project — but critics say the review isn't nearly thorough enough. The comment period closes April 9th, and if we don't speak up now, this decision could be made without a full accounting of its consequences.

The numbers alone are staggering. This single operation could draw up to 226 million gallons of water from the ground every year. In a region where farmers, families, and rural communities depend on clean groundwater, the risk of nitrate contamination isn't a hypothetical — it's a documented pattern with industrial-scale livestock operations across the country. We need an environmental impact statement that honestly assesses what this means for our water, our land, and the people who live here.

But the stakes go beyond the environment. Small and mid-sized dairy farmers across western Minnesota are already watching. They know they cannot compete with an operation 500 times their size. When a corporate mega-farm captures the market, family farms disappear — and the rural communities that depend on them follow. This isn't just an environmental issue. It's an economic one.

And at 18,000 animals under one roof, meaningful oversight of individual animal welfare becomes nearly impossible — a concern that researchers have linked to elevated stress and health problems in large-scale dairy operations.

We're not asking the MPCA to reject this project outright. We're asking for transparency, rigor, and respect for the people most affected. An environmental impact statement is a reasonable, necessary step before a decision of this magnitude is made. Morris-area residents, neighboring farmers, the animals, and all Minnesotans who rely on clean water and healthy rural economies deserve nothing less.

Sign this petition to urge the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to require a full environmental impact statement before any permits are granted to Riverview's proposed expansion.