STATE OF WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES PUBLIC NOTICE OF INTENT TO REISSUE A WISCONSIN POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (WPDES) PERMIT No.WI-0066176-02-0 Permittee: BelGioioso Cheese Inc, 4200 Main St, Green Bay, WI, 54311 Facility Where Discharge Occurs: BelGioioso Cheese Inc Freedom Plant, N4056 Vine Road, Freedom, WI 54913 Receiving Water And Location: Unnamed (WBIC 5019845) in Duck Creek Watershed of Green Bay River Basin in Outagamie County Brief Facility Description: Belgioioso Cheese Inc. – Freedom (BC – Freedom) production facility produces mozzarella and ricotta cheese, whereas the Vine Road production facility produces hard Italian cheeses. BC - Freedom's production is highest in the summer months, while Vine Road is highest in the winter months. The plants do not operate at full capacity at the same time. Whey from the cheese-making process is sent through reverse osmosis before being hauled offsite for further processing. Belgioioso currently uses approx. 4.8 million lbs/day of milk between the 2 production facilities. Sanitary (domestic) wastewater is sent to the Freedom Sanitary District POTW. Effective December 2021, the BC – Freedom wastewater treatment facility accepts process wastewater from the Vine Road facility in addition to the Freedom facility. Wastewater treatment includes 2 process wastewater lift stations, high strength divert systems for each production facility, 3 equalization tanks, dissolved air floatation unit (DAF), 40,000-gallon anoxic selector silo, one 561,042-gallon aeration basin, one ultrafiltration (UF) membrane system, two 40,000-gallon sludge tanks, and two 2-stage sand filters. An additional life station for the polish water from the Vine Road production facility will combine with the treated WWTP water and utilize two cooling towers and effluent pump station. Effluent is discharged on a continuous basis via Outfall 001 to the north bank of an unnamed tributary (UT) to Duck Creek, just south of the facility's stormwater pond. Noncontact cooling water (NCCW) from both facilities is discharged on a continuous basis also to the north bank of the UT to Duck Creek, approx. 100 yards upstream of Outfall 001. 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. 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. WNAXLP May 27 2026 LWIX0524559