Greeley JBS Meat-Processing Plant Allegedly Violated The Clean Water Act For 5 Years Ed Andrieski/AP Employees leave the Swift & Co. meatpacking plant after a shift change in Greeley, Colo., Dec. 15, 2004. JBS USA bought the plant in 2007. Advocacy groups sued JBS USA’s meat-processing plant for how it’s discharging its water into a Greeley stream, but now are in discussions over a settlement. In their joint complaint, the Center for Biological Diversity and Food & Water Watch said that JBS violated requirements under the Clean Water Act. Routine testing for toxins in water is supposed to ensure that any discharged liquid waste is not too toxic for aquatic life. JBS, under its Clean Water Act permit, is allowed to get rid of their waste into the Lone Tree Creek as long as it adequately treats the waste from its two slaughterhouses. The beef plant kills between 3,000 and 6,000 animals per day. The wastewater includes animal fat, meat, blood and e.coli. It is sent to Lone Tree Facility for treatment and disposal. In the complaint, the two advocacy groups alleged that the meat-packing plant violated the water testing limits consecutively for five years. Food & Water Watch also alleges that the state health department knew about these violations for years but didn’t adequately enforce the law. Tarah Heinzen, senior lawyer for Food & Water Watch, said the health department was working with JBS and waiting for the company to come back into compliance. “We looked at what the state had done about these violations and did not see any meaningful enforcement,” Heinzen said. Because of this, the groups filed a citizens suit, which is when citizens step in for the state for enforcement purposes. SOURCE ON CPR NEWS
Taxonomy
- Compliance
- Environmental Compliance