Michigan AG Sued Farm for Illegal, Hazardous Wastewater Discharges

MARCH 5, 2024

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a complaint on behalf of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, against Deborah Brenner, owner of J&D Brenner Farms, for unlawfully discharging wastewater from an unpermitted concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO). The Department of the Environment has attempted to enforce environmental rules against this farm since 2016, but the farm still discharges waste into a ditch leading to Rabbit River, which flows into the Kalamazoo River and eventually Lake Michigan. Monitoring recently found high concentrations of hazardous E. coli bacteria near the farm. The lawsuit seeks to end unlawful discharges and payment of fines and enforcement costs.