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Wisconsin Cheese Group Sentenced to Probation and $237,500 Fine for Clean Water Act Violations

The Monroe-based cheese manufacturer was sentenced in federal court following negligent discharges of untreated industrial wastewater.

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 15, 2026, 12:52 p.m. ET
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According to official court records from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Wisconsin announced on August 14, 2026, Wisconsin Cheese Group, LLC, headquartered in Monroe, Wisconsin, was to one year of probation and ordered to pay a $237,500 fine for violating the Clean Water Act. U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita M. Boor handed down the sentence following the company's June 4, 2026, guilty plea. The case status remains open and developing as the company works to complete mandatory probation requirements. Official records state that between June 6, 2022, and November 5, 2022, the company disrupted the Village of Monticello's treatment works on 19 days by releasing untreated wastewater into the municipal sewer system. The discharges exceeded the biological oxygen demand (BOD) limit in the facility's permit by high margins, including multiple occurrences exceeding the limit by more than 1500%. At the time, the company had no specific controls to ensure compliance and failed to adequately train employees on wastewater management. Chadwick M. Elgersma, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced the resolution of the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Stelljes after an investigation by the EPA's Investigation Division. Allison Landsman, Special Agent in Charge of the Environmental Protection Agency's enforcement program in Wisconsin, stated that the negligent discharges disrupted the public sewer system. Judge Boor noted the violations were entirely avoidable and caused the company to become a neighborhood polluter, though she commended the company for cooperating with investigators and agreeing to facility improvements enforceables as conditions of probation. As part of its sentence, the company must also engage with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources regarding future permitting issues.

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  1. Version 115 Aug 2026, 16:52current

    First published.

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