“Both our Arlington and DeForest locations are currently operating under the required state and local permits,” Meinholz said in a statement. “We are now asking for an increase in the number of animals we can house at our Arlington farm.”
Under the proposed expansion, the concentrated animal feeding operation is projected to produce at least 45 million gallons of liquid waste each year.
Blue Star Dairy is seeking local approval prior to seeking changes to its state permit. The town board in Arlington is set to vote Wednesday on whether to approve the farm’s proposed expansion, as well as a setback waiver to accommodate the expansion.
Nate Moll, town board chair for Arlington, noted the proposal comes as Virginia-based developer QTS Data Centers is looking to build the first phase of a $3 billion data center campus in the town of Vienna, near where the farm’s DeForest site is located.
Local media reports say QTS Data Centers requested an amendment to the town of Vienna’s comprehensive plan to allow development of its data center campus north of Highway V at Patton Road. The farm’s DeForest site is located north of Highway V on Patton Road, but it’s unclear whether the data center development would overlap with the farm.
Meinholz didn’t respond to a request to confirm whether its plans are driven by the proposed data center development.
In its May application to the town, Blue Star Dairy said the first phase of its expansion would include 3,800 cows, calves and heifers. A June permit renewal application filed with the state indicates the first phase would be complete by the end of 2028. Subsequent phases would wrap up by 2030. The farm is proposing to purchase about 161 acres for the expansion.
The project would require 14 barns along with two additional waste storage facilities and a manure stacking area. The expansion would also require a total of four wells that are expected to use more than 274,000 gallons daily after the expansion is complete. A maximum of seven trucks daily would come and go from the site. The farm owns or rents more than 10,700 acres of land for manure spreading.
Click here to see more...