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Press Release
Kansas City, MO -- A nearly five-year-old federal pollution lawsuit against Premium Standard Farms (PSF) and Continental Grain Company (now called PSF-ContiGroup), brought by a coalition of 70 rural farm families called Citizens Legal Environmental Action Network (CLEAN), came to an end as federal regulators settled the ongoing citizens' suit that they had joined in 1999.
In the settlement, the federal government fined PSF-ContiGroup $350,000, and required the company to perform pollution testing and to install an as-yet-unspecified technology to reduce the toxicity of the waste generated at the operations by 50% over a period of several years. The settlement also requires the company to monitor its air emissions pollution.
However, CLEAN representatives criticized the settlement, which it termed as "very weak and disappointing" because it provides no immediate relief to the farm families who have suffered with the chronic odor and water pollution they say emanates from the facilities. CLEAN members say they felt compelled to sign the federal agreement to avoid being shut entirely out of the process going forward. "The families of CLEAN set out almost five years ago with just two goals - to put a permanent stop to PSF's chronic and ongoing violations of the law; and to deliver immediate, real and lasting relief to those families that must live next to its filth and stench," said Terry Spence, president of CLEAN. "Sadly, the government's settlement accomplishes neither."
For years, CLEAN has called on state and federal regulators to require PSF-ContiGroup to move its waste application equipment back a quarter-mile from neighbors whose property had been spilled on. Instead, the company and the federal government agreed in the settlement to move waste equipment back just 50 feet for each additional spill onto these neighbors - for up to six more spills on each property, up to a maximum setback of 300 feet. CLEAN Board Member Jeri McKinley has already seen waste from PSF-ContiGroup travel onto his 500-acre farm on numerous occasions. McKinley was especially unhappy that the settlement fails to mandate appropriate setbacks. "It's pathetic," said McKinley. "We've repeatedly asked state and federal officials to move this company back away from our homes until they solve their continuing problems. They wouldn't even give us this small bit of relief."
CLEAN members were also disappointed by the small penalties levied on PSF-ContiGroup, which they described as a mere slap on the wrist. In the agreement, stipulated penalties for future infractions start at just $200 for the first 30 days of violation, and spills into streams that may result in a fish kill are set at $1,500, even though the federal Clean Water Act proscribes a penalty of up to $27,500 per day for these types of violations. PSF Group had sales that totaled $171.2 million in the fiscal quarter that ended in June 2001.
The PSF-ContiGroup facilities in question had a long track record of environmental violations documented by state and federal officials: dozens of spills, including several that tainted neighboring property, polluted streams and killed fish; air emissions permitting violations dating to April 1997; at least 19 Notices of Violation issued by the State of Missouri since July 1999; the discharge of dead animal fluids from four facilities; almost 1,300 instances of overstocking buildings at 48 facilities by a total of approximately 293,000 hogs; more than 520 violations of lagoon waste storage levels; more than 320 incidents of overapplication of swine feces and urine to crop fields; and more than 200 instances of discharge violations at the company's Milan, Mo., slaughterhouse.
Terry Spence pointed out that, in the end, the federal case withered due to politics. "This was a classic case of a large multinational corporation simply overwhelming the government's resources and buying time, until the political winds shifted in Washington," Spence said. "As the suit evolved, it became clear that this case was no longer about CLEAN versus PSF," added CLEAN Board Member Rolf Christen. "It had become a case of the United States government versus the corporate swine industry. This settlement's lack of any immediate relief for CLEAN's families, and its emphasis instead on documenting the dangerous air emissions and health risks posed by facilities of this magnitude, is reflective of that shift in the government's prosecution strategy."
In spite of their criticisms of the federal settlement, CLEAN members acknowledged the value in the agreement's air monitoring requirements. "To the extent that the government's years of further monitoring of these operations may eventually result in real remediation, or may document the health and pollution risks of these types of facilities, we're thankful for that, we applaud that," Christen said. "Certainly, it will be the first time that the government has taken a serious look at these issues. However, we believe strongly that the government could have accomplished their goals, as well as levying an appropriate penalty and delivering some immediate relief for our families," Christen said.
"PSF-ContiGroup spent millions defending and dragging out this lawsuit so that it can continue to make enormous profits," said Christen. "Ironically, when the company couldn't drag out the lawsuit any longer, they may have sold out the entire industry in return for a free pass on their failure to obtain air permits. Meanwhile, they are allowed to continue on in business while they gather the information that may ultimately cripple the corporate swine industry," said Christen.
PSF-ContiGroup is also operating under a previous settlement agreement reached with the Missouri Attorney General. That 1999 settlement resulted in a $650,000 fine for water pollution violations, and required PSF-ContiGroup to spend $25 million on unspecified "next generation technology." As of November 2001, the companies have spent $5.4 million on alternative technologies.
In spite of the on-going federal lawsuit, PSF-ContiGroup had a series of spills in July and August that polluted streams and killed fish, including one incident of apparent waste-dumping suspected of polluting a neighbor's drinking water well. CLEAN has repeatedly called on both state and federal regulators to address the polluted well, but neither government has taken any enforcement action on the incident to date. Today's settlement does not cover these recent spills.
While recognizing that this federal suit was ending, CLEAN vowed to continue to press state and federal officials to reform PSF-ContiGroup's behavior, and its resulting pollution.
"With each passing year, we continue to wonder if anyone will ever be able to civilize this company," said Spence. "We continue to hear expectations voiced, and we are still waiting for them to become a reality. Still, our families will continue to press forward for real and lasting reform."
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