LIHUE >> The owner of a Kauai resort is suing to stop the development of a proposed dairy farm on a nearby property. 

The lawsuit filed by Kawailoa Development in Circuit Court in Lihue says progress on the dairy operation should cease until developers prove it won’t negatively affect the surrounding environment, the Garden Island newspaper reported Tuesday.

Kawailoa owns the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa and the Poipu Bay Golf Course. It’s the closest landowner to parcels where Hawaii Dairy Farms wants to place 1,800 milking cows. 

Kawailoa claims its business, recreational, environmental and aesthetic interests would be adversely affected by the wastewater treatment unit, the dairy farm and its effluent ponds. 

Hawaii Dairy Farms spokeswoman Amy Hennessey called the suit "deeply disappointing" and "without merit."