STATE OF WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES PUBLIC NOTICE OF INTENT TO MODIFY A WISCONSIN POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (WPDES) PERMIT No.WI-0055751-09-1 Permittee: Dairy State Cheese, Inc., P O Box 215, Rudolph, WI, 54475 Facility Where Discharge Occurs: Dairy State Cheese, Inc., Corner of Hwy 34 & Cnty Hwy C, Rudolph, WI Receiving Water And Location: an effluent ditch to Flick Creek, located in the Wisconsin Rapids Watershed in the Central Wisconsin River Basin in Wood County Brief Facility Description: Dairy State Cheese (DSC) operates a natural cheese production facility and a whey processing plant. Process wastewater and whey permeate from the reverse osmosis along with clean in place (CIP) wastewater are treated at an onsite activated sludge wastewater treatment facility. Upgrades completed in September of 2022 converted the existing sequencing batch reactor (SBR) to an equalization tank and added an aeration basin and ultra filtration membrane system. The old equalization tank is now being used as a selector tank to precipitate phosphorus removal. A dissolved air floatation (DAF) is used for solid/liquid separation and sludge is stored in an onsite sludge storage tank. The facility has an annual average design flow of 0.250 million gallons per day (MGD) and had an actual annual average flow of 0.154 MGD from Jan – Dec 2024. Treated effluent is discharged to an effluent ditch to Flick Creek. Sludge from the treatment system, unprocessed whey, and whey permeate are disposed of in several ways including land application on Department approved sites, hauling to other wastewater treatment facilities, and hauling to department approved manure pits. Sanitary wastewaters are segregated and discharged to the Wisconsin Rapids Wastewater Treatment Facility. Permit Drafter's Name, Address, Phone and Email: Holly Heldstab, 1300 W Clairemont Ave, Eau Claire, WI, 54701, (715) 492-0483, Holly.Heldstab@wisconsin.gov Basin Engineer's Name, Address, Phone and Email: Logan Rubeck, 1300 W Clairemont Ave, Eau Claire, WI 54701, (715) 450-5967, logan.rubeck@wisconsin.gov Proposed Modification: This permit modification is to add Land Application Outfall 006 at the request of Dairy State Cheese Inc. This outfall tracks the disposal and compliance of sludge taken directly from the screw press. As a result of this change, the permittee is also required to submit an updated Land Application Management Plan per this modification. The Department has tentatively decided that the above-specified WPDES permit should be modified. 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 (715) 492-0483 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. WNAXLP April 30 2026 LWIX0506087