STATE OF WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES PUBLIC NOTICE OF INTENT TO REISSUE A WISCONSIN POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (WPDES) PERMIT No.WI-0039993-09-0 Permittee: Foremost Farms USA, P O Box 1317, Appleton, WI, 54912 Facility Where Discharge Occurs: Foremost Farms USA Appleton, 1815 W Spencer Street, Appleton, Wisconsin Receiving Water And Location: Fox River/Appleton Watershed (LF04), Lower Fox River Basin via storm sewer in Outagamie County and groundwater via land application in Outagamie, Calumet, Waupaca and Winnebago Counties Brief Facility Description and Summary of Proposed Changes: Foremost Farms USA owns and operates a dairy facility at 1815 W Spencer St, in Appleton, WI. The facility produces mozzarella cheese and whey products. Discharges to storm sewers consist of noncontact cooling water (NCCW) from product heat exchangers, compressors and reverse osmosis water. NCCW from cheese production and whey processing are discharged via outfalls 001 & 011, respectively. The municipal water utility and three on-site wells serve as the source of water for production and equipment cooling. Water from the on-site wells is chlorinated using sodium hypochlorite, at a rate typically needed to ensure a safe drinking water supply and dechlorinated using sodium bisulfite prior to discharge via outfalls 001 or 011. Wastewater from cleaning and sanitization of equipment used in whey processing is discharged under outfall 002 through land application to agricultural fields or added to manure pits that have been granted exemptions under s. NR 214.17(1). Other wastewaters discharged under outfall 002 include salt whey, waste whey or whey permeate, and other high-strength liquid wastewaters which may be unacceptable to the Appleton POTW or unusable as animal feed. The plant uses an in-line refractometer and in-line pH and turbidity sensors to separate low-strength wastewater that is acceptable to send to the Appleton POTW from high-strength wastewater, which is held in storage tanks until it is loaded onto tanker trucks for land application. Unusable and/or off-spec dairy products and salt brine hauled off-site are tracked via outfalls 005 & 006, respectively. Permit Drafter's Name, Address, Phone and Email: Ashley Clark, 2984 Shawano Ave, Green Bay, WI, 54313, (920) 857-0450, Ashleym.Clark@wisconsin.gov Basin Engineer's Name, Address, Phone and Email: Barti Oumarou, 625 E County Road Y, Suite 700, Oshkosh, WI 54901, (920) 424-4013, Barti.Oumarou@wisconsin.gov The Department has tentatively decided that the above-specified WPDES permit should be reissued. Limitations and conditions which the Department believes adequately protect the receiving water are included in the proposed permit. Land application of waste shall be done in accordance with permit conditions and applicable codes. All land application sites shall be approved prior to their use. To receive a list of approved sites, or to be notified of potential approvals, contact the above-named basin engineer. Persons wishing to comment on or object to the proposed permit action, or to request a public hearing, may write to the Department of Natural Resources at the above-named permit drafter's address. All comments or suggestions received no later than 30 days after the publication date of this public notice will be considered along with other information on file in making a final decision regarding the permit. Anyone providing comments in response to this public notice will receive a notification of the Department's final decision when the permit is issued. Where designated as a reviewable surface water discharge permit, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is allowed up to 90 days to submit comments or objections regarding this permit determination. If no comments are received on the proposed permit from anyone, including U.S. EPA, the permit will be issued as proposed. The Department may schedule a public informational hearing if requested by any person and shall schedule a public informational hearing if a petition requesting a hearing is received from 5 or more persons or if response to this notice indicates significant public interest pursuant to s. 283.49, Wis. Stats. Requests for a public informational hearing shall state the following: the name and address of the person(s) requesting the hearing; the interest in the proposed permit of the person(s) requesting the hearing; the reasons for the request; and the issues proposed to be considered at the hearing. Information on file for this permit action, including the draft permit, fact sheet and permit application, may be inspected and copied at either the above-named permit drafter's office or the above named basin engineer's office, Monday through Friday (except holidays), between 9:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Please call the permit drafter or basin engineer for directions to their office location, if necessary. Information on this permit action may also be obtained by calling the permit drafter at (920) 857-0450 or by writing to the Department. Reasonable costs (15 cents per page for copies and 7 cents per page for scanning) will be charged for information in the file other than the public notice, permit and fact sheet. Permit information is also available on the internet at: http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/wastewater/PublicNotices.html. Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodation, including the provision of informational material in an alternative format, will be made to qualified individuals upon request. NAME OF PUBLISHING NEWSPAPER: Post Crescent ADDRESS OF PUBLISHING NEWSPAPER: 306 W Washington St. Appleton, WI 54911 Date Notice Issued: November 20, 2025 WNAXLP November 20 2025 LWIX0409499