Sept. 16, 2026
By TIM HUNDT
VIROQUA, Wis. – Vernon County has reached a major milestone in its years-long effort to expand its solid waste facility, receiving an official letter of completeness from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as county leaders prepare for a critical update.
The Vernon County Board of Supervisors has placed the landfill expansion on its agenda for Thursday, Sept. 17, where county staff will present a formal update on the state determination and outline the remaining steps required to secure final approval.
In an Aug. 17 letter sent to Vernon County Solid Waste Director Stacie Sanborn, the Department of Natural Resources confirmed that the feasibility report for the proposed Eastern Expansion is complete. The completeness determination covers the original feasibility report submitted in September 2023, along with addenda filed in November 2024 and June 2026 and a groundwater exemption memorandum submitted in July 2026.
State officials explicitly noted in the letter that the finding does not constitute a final approval or a endorsement of the project’s safety.
“Based on our review, we have determined that the feasibility report is complete,” wrote Bridget Kelly, DNR Waste and Materials Management Supervisor. “This is not a determination of feasibility or a reflection of the department’s position on the feasibility of the proposed landfill but does confirm that the minimum information required by chapter NR 512, Wis. Adm. Code, and s. 289.24(3), Wis. Stats., has been provided.”
The proposed Eastern Expansion would enlarge the existing 11-acre landfill by adding 4.0 acres horizontally to the east and 5.0 acres vertically on top of existing cells, resulting in a 15-acre footprint. The project is designed to provide approximately 427,355 cubic yards of additional capacity, securing roughly 15 years of operational life for county residents and businesses.
The receipt of the letter comes after years of regulatory delays and intense local debate. The Vernon County Board of Supervisors originally approved the expansion plan on a 14 to 3 vote in October 2023, followed by a unanimous 19 to 0 vote in early 2025 to continue seeking state permits.
However, the state review process stalled after the Department of Natural Resources issued two separate notices of incompleteness in December 2023 and March 2025. State hydrogeologists requested extensive additional data regarding underlying rock formations, forcing the county to drill new monitoring wells at a cost of $130,000, conduct geological surveys of neighboring quarries, and perform detailed slug testing to measure groundwater flow.
In total, Vernon County has invested nearly $1 million in engineering and environmental studies conducted by consulting firm Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc.
Throughout the process, a vocal group of local citizens has persistently opposed the expansion. Opponents including Tom Lukens, Kelvin Rodolfo, and KJ Jakobson have argued at public meetings that the landfill sits atop fragile karst geology susceptible to sinkholes, posing severe risks to surrounding groundwater and trout streams. Citizens have also raised concerns over shrinking waste volumes, historical financial losses, and past regulatory compliance notices regarding daily cover and open working areas.
Interim Landfill Manager Gail Frie defended the safety and necessity of the county-owned operation, emphasizing that the facility was built above state standards to protect local natural resources.
“The landfill keeps the bottom of the landfill dry to eliminate any possibility of liquid leaving the site,” said Frie. “Vernon County design exceeds all environmental protections in the current code.”
With the completeness determination now issued, the expansion process enters a strict statutory timeline that includes an immediate window for public participation.
The Department of Natural Resources is publishing a public notice in the Vernon County Times and the Wisconsin State Journal, opening a mandatory 30-day public comment period that begins once the notice is posted on the agency website. During this 30-day window, any county, village, city, town, or group of six or more citizens can submit written comments or formally request a public informational hearing or a contested case hearing.
If a contested case hearing is requested, an administrative law judge will preside over a trial-like proceeding where state engineers, county staff, and public objectors testify under oath. Following the public comment period and any subsequent hearing, state law requires the Department of Natural Resources to issue a formal feasibility determination within 60 to 90 days.
If the state issues a favorable feasibility determination, the county must then prepare a detailed Plan of Operation outlining exact construction specifications, liner installation details, and gas extraction systems before any earth can be moved.
To prevent the current landfill cell from reaching maximum capacity while waiting for state permits, county officials are actively diverting roughly 60 percent of incoming waste to neighboring facilities in La Crosse and Monroe counties. State law dictates that if an operating landfill reaches full capacity, it must immediately undergo permanent closure.
Even if the county successfully secures state environmental permits, it must still clear the major hurdle of finalizing a Town Host Agreement with the Town of Viroqua, where the landfill is located.
Under Wisconsin Statute Section 289.33, a town host agreement is a statutorily required contract negotiated between a landfill operator and the local host municipality to address community impacts. The negotiations cover local operational protections, including designated truck haul routes, tipping fee compensation, litter and odor controls, private well testing guarantees, and property value protections.
Negotiations between the county and the Town of Viroqua Siting Committee hit a stalemate in early 2026. Town representatives, led by attorney Anders Helquist and committee chair AnnaJo Doerr, submitted a 32-page proposal demanding strict contractual stopgaps for groundwater contamination, enforcement penalties for truck violations, and a firm 15-year closure date.
Vernon County countered with a 15-page draft modeled after a La Crosse County contract, arguing that many of the town’s demands duplicate existing state regulations enforced by the Department of Natural Resources.
Town negotiators argued that local enforcement authority is essential because state regulators lack the staff to police daily operational issues.
If the county and the township remain unable to reach a negotiated settlement, state law dictates that the dispute will move to binding arbitration overseen by the Wisconsin Waste Facility Siting Board. Under arbitration, both parties must submit their final contract offer, and the state board must select one offer in its entirety without making any modifications.
Add comment