KMAX: News of the West

WOODLAND, Calif. (AP) Environmentalists sued the Yolo County Board of Supervisors on Thursday for approving the expansion of the Cache Creek Dairy without a permit.

The Sierra Club said supervisors caved to pressure from the dairy's owner to give their blessing to nearly double the size of the county's largest dairy from 1,500 to 2,800 cows.

The environmental group said that if the county required a permit it would have triggered an environmental review to determine how much air and water pollution the expansion would create.

Four years ago, in response to the dairy's creation, the board amended a zoning code to require permits for new or expanding dairies.

Initially county planners rejected the dairy's claim that it had a right to expand without the new permit, but they reversed themselves days before the board of supervisors vote in April. Supervisors agreed that dairy owners Jack and Ellie Mae Kasbergen had a right to expand because maps previously approved for the project depicted a building that would eventually hold another 1,200 cows, according to minutes of the meeting.

The new barn, however, never received a required building permit, said Brent Newell, an attorney for the Sierra Club's Mother Lode chapter. He also said a waiver to discharge waste that was originally granted by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board had been rescinded and therefore the expansion required further environmental review.

County spokeswoman Suzanne Mikesell said a lawyer was reviewing the lawsuit and would have no comment.

Phone calls were not immediately returned from the farmers or their lawyer.

The environmental group wants a Yolo County Superior Court judge to halt the project, require the necessary permits and order the county to pay legal fees.

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On the Net:

The Sierra Club: http://www.motherlode.sierraclub.org/conservation

Yolo County Board of Supervisors: http://www.yolocounty.org/org/bos/board.html