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US Newswire
Today's agreement filed by the Justice Department on behalf
of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) resolves charges
that IBP violated the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and
other environmental laws at its 200-acre complex of facilities
located near Dakota City, Nebraska, as well as additional
violations at IBP facilities in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and
Texas.
Each day, some 5,000 head of cattle are slaughtered and
between 4,000 to 5,000 hides are tanned at the facility. In
addition, approximately 4 million gallons of contaminated
wastewater are treated at the plant and then discharged into the
Missouri River.
"This agreement secures IBP's future compliance with our
nation's environmental laws and penalizes its past violations,"
said John Cruden, Acting Assistant Attorney General for
Environment and Natural Resources. "This agreement further
demonstrates our commitment to vigorous enforcement. The right
of the people to clean air and water cannot be compromised."
"We are pleased to partner with Nebraska and other states to
enforce the laws that protect our environment and public
health," said EPA Administrator Christie Whitman. "This
partnership will further ensure the environment is not put at
risk from excessive air and water pollution."
The Complaint alleges that IBP's discharge of large
quantities of ammonia in its wastewater violated its
state-issued Clean Water Act permit. Excessive discharges of
ammonia are of particular concern because of their potential to
harm aquatic life in the Missouri River. There is substantial
evidence of an ongoing and persistent toxicity problem stemming
from the ammonia in IBP's discharges, dating to 1988.
The United States also asserts that IBP failed to install
required air pollution control equipment as the company expanded
its complex from 1989 to 1995, and as a result, illegally
emitted an excessive amount of hydrogen sulfide into the air.
The government further alleges that IBP regularly failed to
report its known releases of hydrogen sulfide in excess of 100
pounds per day, as required by law. In October 1999, IBP
reported that it continuously emits as much as 1,919 pounds per
day from its Dakota City facility.
The Complaint finally alleges that IBP improperly disposed of
spent stun gun cartridges containing lead.
Under today's agreement, IBP will pay $4.1 million in civil
penalties, and also will spend approximately $10 million in
improvements to resolve its violations at the Dakota City
facility and for additional projects to further reduce its
discharge of pollutants to the air and water. Specifically, IBP
has agreed to construct additional wastewater treatment systems
at the complex to dramatically reduce its discharges of ammonia
to the river. The systems to be installed by IBP exceed those
required to meet the requirements of IBP's current permit,
issued in 1995, and are designed to allow the company to meet
the anticipated stricter requirements of a new permit to be
issued by EPA under the Clean Water Act. IBP further agrees not
to contest EPA's authority to issue that permit.
IBP also will expand a water treatment project designed to
strip its incoming well water of sulfates, thereby further
reducing the plant's generation of hydrogen sulfide. The company
finally will perform clean-up and plant closure work at its
former facility in Palestine, Texas, to resolve Clean Water Act
and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act violations stemming
from its operation of certain wastewater lagoons and its
disposal of spent stun gun cartridges containing lead at that
facility.
Today's agreement lodged in U.S. District Court in Omaha,
Nebraska, finally resolves the entirety of IBP's violations at
the Dakota City facility and is joined by the State of Nebraska,
which will direct its $1.85 million share of the penalty to the
local school system. It further resolves Clean Water Act
violations at IBP facilities in Gibbon, Nebraska, and Palestine,
Texas, along with violations of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, and the Emergency
Planning and Community Right to Know Act, for late reporting of
known releases of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia at IBP facilities
in Holcomb, Kansas; Storm Lake, Iowa; Columbus Junction, Iowa;
West Point, Nebraska; Denison, Iowa; Council Bluffs, Iowa;
Madison, Nebraska; Storm Lake, Iowa; Emporia, Kansas; Perry,
Iowa; Lexington, Nebraska; Waterloo, Iowa; and South Hutchinson,
Kansas. A similar reporting violation at IBP's facility in
Joslin, Illinois, is being resolved simultaneously under an
administrative settlement, for an additional $200,000 penalty.
On May 24, 2000, an interim agreement was reached that
required IBP to cover lagoons and control hydrogen sulfide
emissions at the Dakota City facility to resolve findings by the
Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality that the air around
the IBP complex contained levels of hydrogen sulfide that
frequently exceeded state health standards. The injunctive
relief in the settlement was valued at $13 million. The federal
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry is currently
completing a study of the potential health effects of hydrogen
sulfide exposure on the residents of Dakota City and South Sioux
City, Nebraska.
The improvements required under the interim agreement are now
complete. Air monitors installed under the agreement show
dramatic reductions in hydrogen sulfide in the surrounding
community since the improvements came on-line this past Spring.
IBP is currently applying for a permit from the State of
Nebraska to govern its hydrogen sulfide emissions and has agreed
in this settlement not to contest the necessity of having such
a permit in any future state proceedings.
IBP, founded in 1960 as Iowa Beef Packers, is the world's
largest producer of fresh beef, pork, and related products, and
operates 40 plants in North America. IBP was acquired by Tyson
Foods Inc on September 28, 2001 and is now a wholly owned
subsidiary of Tyson.
"IBP's Dakota City facility has been the source of persistent
environmental problems for many years," said Mike Heavican,
United States Attorney for the District of Nebraska. "We look
forward to the company becoming a better neighbor to Nebraska
citizens in the future."
Comments on this Consent Decree will be received for 30 days.
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