Va. Poultry Companies Face Environmental Lawsuit

BOYCE, Va. — Three environmental groups this week announced their intent to sue Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation and Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation for violating federal and state environmental laws.

The groups — Shenandoah Riverkeeper based in Boyce, Va.; Potomac Riverkeeper based in Washington, D.C., and Waterkeeper Alliance based in Irvington, N.Y. — charge the poultry processors with unlawful dumping of poultry waste and construction debris into the North Fork of the Shenandoah River in Timberville, Virginia.

Pilgrim’s Pride and Cargill annually send 360 million gallons of poultry processing waste to the failing SIL wastewater treatment facility in Timberville, according to a press release sent Wednesday by Potomac Riverkeeper.

“These slaughterhouses share responsibility for the failure of the SIL treatment plant and resulting pollution of the river,” said Jeff Kelble of Shenandoah Riverkeeper. “PPC (Pilgrim’s Pride) and Cargill have broken federal and state laws by sending poultry processing and chemical wastes that overwhelm the treatment system at SIL. From there the improperly treated waste ends up in the North Fork.”

The federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act requires that wastes be properly transported, handled and disposed, and the Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of pollutants into U.S. waters. The SIL plant is currently under a court order to upgrade their equipment and meet the discharge limits in their Clean Water Act permit. But the plant continues to violate their permit limits.

The poultry processing waste contains large amounts of pollutants such as phosphorus, nitrogen, ammonia and fecal coliform, according to the environmental groups. These pollutants destroy fish and wildlife habitat in the Shenandoah, and contribute to the ongoing impairment of the Chesapeake Bay.

In addition, the groups are charging Pilgrim’s Pride and Cargill with polluting the river with barrels, pipes, cinder blocks and other construction debris.

“These companies rely on clean water to do business, but they return it to the river in disgraceful shape,” says Kelble. “Their industrial wastes damage the natural river habitat and their construction debris ruins the river for fishermen, boaters and swimmers.”