COLA and the LCO Tribe have served cranberry operator with Notice of Intent to File a Citizen Lawsuit Under the Federal Clean Water Act

Cranberry Operation Served with Notice of Intent to File a Citizen Lawsuit Under the Federal Clean Water Act for Point Source Phosphorus Pollution that is Harming Unique Wisconsin Lake

HAYWARD, Wisconsin (December 12, 2023). Courte Oreilles Lakes Association, Inc. (COLA) and the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa (LCO Tribe) have served cranberry operator William Zawistowski with notice of intent to file a citizen lawsuit under the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) for discharging phosphorus, a recognized pollutant under the CWA, through point sources, such as canals and ditches, into Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO), an Outstanding Resource Water (ORW), which is a unique designation that applies to fewer than 1% of lakes in Wisconsin. (View 60 Day Notice).

Unfortunately, COLA is forced to take this action because Zawistowski has rejected all of COLA’s offers to assist Zawistowski in addressing this problem, including $100,000 to install a closed systemconsistent with cranberry operation best management practices.

“It is unfortunate that it has come to this,” said Chris Bedwell, the president of COLA. “With Mr. Zawistowski’s refusal to follow the industry’s best management practice for closed water recirculation systems* and his refusal to work with COLA and the Tribe on this issue, COLA and the Tribe have no choice but to give him the 60‐day notice of the commencement of the citizen suit under the Clean Water Act. Nothing less than the recreational use of LCO, its sport fishery, property values, and the Tribe’s spiritual, cultural, and subsistence use of the lake are at stake.”

During the 60‐day notice period, COLA and the Tribe will still be available to discuss effective remedies and actions which will ensure Zawistowski’s future compliance with the Clean Water Act and all applicable state water pollution control laws. COLA and the Tribe request that any person reviewing this announcement direct all inquiries to COLA Communications.

*NRCS Conservation Practice Standard Irrigation and Drainage Tailwater Recovery (Code 447) (February 2023)