000128 IBP Sued Over Nebraska Meat Plant Pollution

Washington - Giant U.S. meatpacker IBP Inc. has illegally fouled the air and water with emissions of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide from a Nebraska plant for more than five years, the Justice Department said in a lawsuit that seeks damages from the company.

Among the chief complaints lodged by the federal government is that IBP's plant in Dakota City, Nebraska, spewed uncontrolled amounts of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia into the air and into the Missouri River. The emissions violated the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, prosecutors said.

The suit, filed in federal court in Omaha, will seek “significant” civil penalties against IBP that could amount to tens of millions of dollars, prosecutors said.

Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless gas that has a foul, rotten egg smell and can cause nausea, eye irritation and headaches. In large doses, it can paralyze the respiratory system.

“The public cares about clean air and clean water,” said Lois Schiffer, assistant attorney general for environmental issues. “Companies that take short cuts in controlling pollution threaten our environment. We will hold them accountable.”

IBP denied the allegations of wrongdoing and said it was “disappointed” the federal government chose to resolve the issue in court.

The firm said it has been trying for two years to get government permits to build new covered lagoons and make other improvements that would result in cleaner local air.

“However, we have continually run into bureaucratic roadblocks,” IBP said in a statement. “The federal government has now filed a legal action, which will create months, and perhaps years, of additional delays.”

The firm said it reached an agreement with Nebraska last November to obtain the permits, but the state backed out the deal after it said federal government approval was needed.

The company also said state environmental officials determined that the ammonia levels released by its plant into the Missouri River did not cause “an adverse environmental impact.”

The plant has been criticized for years by a citizens group, which urged the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality and local government to take action. The activist group has complained that the smell from hydrogen sulfide emitted by the meat plant is sometimes so strong that it awakens nearby residents from their sleep.

The government seeks a court order forcing IBP to cover or close six waste lagoons at the Nebraska plant, and to install additional treatment facilities to control discharges into the Missouri River.

The Nebraska facility is one of ten beef plants and six pork plants owned by IBP, the biggest U.S. meatpacker.

The lawsuit accused the company of a dozen other environmental violations.

IBP allegedly failed to install required pollution-control equipment when the company built its Dakota City Tannery in 1989, and again when it built six waste lagoons in 1994. The following year, IBP replaced several industrial boilers without applying for a permit and installing state-of-the-art pollution control technology, prosecutors said.

IBP also neglected to file emergency reports for contaminants as required by federal environmental laws.

For example, emissions of more than 100 pounds per day of hydrogen sulfide must be reported to the Environmental Protection Agency. IBP's plant released an estimated 1,800 pounds per day at times, according to the lawsuit.

And IBP allegedly did not properly dispose of hazardous wastes such as barium and other material in “stun guns” used to slaughter livestock at the plant, prosecutors said.

“This case presents a pattern of activity for which the common thread is IBP's avoidance of environmental regulation,” said Thomas Monaghan, the U.S. Attorney for Nebraska.

Civil penalties could be sought of up to $25,000 per day for violations of each law prior to 1997, and $27,500 per day after that date, federal prosecutors said. Under federal law, fines can be collected for continuous violations of up to five years.

IBP allegedly broke pollution laws for much longer than five years, prosecutors said.

Justice Department officials declined to say how much in civil penalties may be sought in the case, but noted that federal laws would allow a judge to assess penalties of up to $100,000 per day for the allegations in the lawsuit.

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