Judge Approves Dairy Consent Decree Dairies Taking Action

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A federal judge presiding over the lawsuit case against three dairies has approved a consent decree agreed upon by the opposing parties.

The legally binding agreement between environmentalists and Cow Palace dairy went into effect Tuesday.

The dairy has promised to line manure lagoons, increase the number of people who get free bottled water or filters, and other actions under the new terms.

In January, Judge Thomas Rice found that Cow Palace had been poorly handling manure and threatening public health, which likely contributed to nitrate pollution in private, unincorporated wells in the Outlook and Granger areas.

Dairies owned by the Bosma and DeRuyter families have also been sued and have agreed to similar consent decrees that are to be approved by the judge.