28 acres of orchard. The current generation of Sacias has soought for two years to sell the family namesake orchard. Image: Steve Lunde
Evironmental issue: Groundwater safety
GALESVILLE, Wis. — The Gale Township Board voted 4-0 to rezone the 28-acre Sacia apple orchard for expansion of a nearby fertilizer factory. The rezoning has been opposed by environmentalists because of the danger of nitrate, phosphate and other chemical run-off. The existing factory, next to the Sacia property, is a few hundred yards uphill from Beaver Creek, which empties into the Mississippi River. Final approval of the rezoning is up to the Trempealeau County Board. The fertilizer factory was built in 2023 by Allied Co-Operative of Adams, Wisconsin, which is 100 miles away. At its existing plant the co-op already stores 14,500 tons of fertilizer, much of it in tanks. Containment ponds hold back contaminant run0off, the co-op claims. In the Town Board’s 4-0 approval of rezoning, Chair Paul Halderson abstained.