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Environmental group poised to sue Postville kosher meat plant
- By cigaretteman
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A citizens group that works to protect streams and groundwater in Northeast Iowa has given notice it intends to file a federal lawsuit against a large meatpacking facility in Postville for its repeated wastewater pollution violations.
The Driftless Water Defenders sent notice last week to Agri Star Meat & Poultry that it plans to seek substantial fines — about $67,000 per day per violation — and a court order to comply with contaminant limits in its wastewater discharge permit.
The lawsuit would be an uncommon move by residents to force compliance with the federal Clean Water Act, which in Iowa typically is handled by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The most significant violations can be litigated by the Iowa Attorney General's Office. State Attorney General Brenna Bird has said similar citizen lawsuits aren't proper because they circumvent states' oversight.
Agri Star is a large meat-packer of kosher beef, chicken and turkey. In recent years it has processed more than 50 million pounds each of cattle and poultry annually, according to state documents related to its permit.
The company has an on-site wastewater treatment system with lagoons that discharge up to about a million gallons each day into nearby Hecker Creek, which flows to the Yellow River.
In the past four years, the Iowa DNR has noted more than 50 violations of the conditions of Agri Star's wastewater permit. Those were tied to excessive pollution of ammonia, copper, chloride, suspended waste particles and others.
The company is accused of failing to test its wastewater as frequently as required, which the company has attributed to staff turnover, Iowa DNR records show.
The Driftless group's notice also mentioned an incident in March 2024 when a blockage of Agri Star's wastewater system illegally redirected about 250,000 gallons of meat processing wastewater into the city of Postville's sewer system. The notice alleges Agri Star did not reduce its production speed to limit the contamination and that the company "was not aware of the blocked sewer line until contacted by the city," according to a copy of the notice obtained by The Gazette.
The company has since installed a system to detect irregular water flow and other measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. Egan Guerrero, an Agri Star supervisor, said the blockage was a result of "vandalism or sabotage," according to an April letter he sent to the Iowa DNR.
The department has sought in recent years to get Agri Star into compliance, but has not fined the company. It most recently issued violation notices to the company in November and December for excessive chloride and for failing to submit a required stream antidegradation analysis for some of its wastewater.
The company, through one of its operation managers, declined to comment for this article.
The Driftless group plans to file the federal lawsuit in about two months. The Clean Water Act allows such lawsuits when there is no pending enforcement action by state governments or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and it requires a 60-day notification period before the suit is filed.
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The Iowa DNR declined to comment for this article because litigation is pending.
In October, Bird decried a similar citizen suit in Washington state that she said seeks to wrest regulatory authority from states. The litigation strategy could be used against farmers, she said, by "woke green activists."
"It that's who we are, then I do think Iowans are becoming awakened to the fact that their water is becoming more contaminated and increasingly polluted, and that the pollution is affecting their health and well-being," said Jim Larew, an attorney for the Driftless group.
The group also is being represented by Public Justice and FarmSTAND, both of Washington, D.C., which have litigated environmental concerns on behalf of residents in other states.
“This potential citizen suit is an example of one of the key enforcement mechanisms of the (Clean Water) Act, ensuring that polluting industries are held accountable for violations of their permits,” said Dan Snyder, a Public Justice attorney. “There are many examples of these types of cases across the United States, for polluters are too often allowed to violate the law without meaningful enforcement.”
The Driftless group also has pending lawsuits against government officials in Winneshiek County, where it hopes to block the construction and operation of a manure digester.
www.thegazette.com
The Driftless Water Defenders sent notice last week to Agri Star Meat & Poultry that it plans to seek substantial fines — about $67,000 per day per violation — and a court order to comply with contaminant limits in its wastewater discharge permit.
The lawsuit would be an uncommon move by residents to force compliance with the federal Clean Water Act, which in Iowa typically is handled by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The most significant violations can be litigated by the Iowa Attorney General's Office. State Attorney General Brenna Bird has said similar citizen lawsuits aren't proper because they circumvent states' oversight.
Agri Star is a large meat-packer of kosher beef, chicken and turkey. In recent years it has processed more than 50 million pounds each of cattle and poultry annually, according to state documents related to its permit.
The company has an on-site wastewater treatment system with lagoons that discharge up to about a million gallons each day into nearby Hecker Creek, which flows to the Yellow River.
Numerous violations
In the past four years, the Iowa DNR has noted more than 50 violations of the conditions of Agri Star's wastewater permit. Those were tied to excessive pollution of ammonia, copper, chloride, suspended waste particles and others.
The company is accused of failing to test its wastewater as frequently as required, which the company has attributed to staff turnover, Iowa DNR records show.
The Driftless group's notice also mentioned an incident in March 2024 when a blockage of Agri Star's wastewater system illegally redirected about 250,000 gallons of meat processing wastewater into the city of Postville's sewer system. The notice alleges Agri Star did not reduce its production speed to limit the contamination and that the company "was not aware of the blocked sewer line until contacted by the city," according to a copy of the notice obtained by The Gazette.
The company has since installed a system to detect irregular water flow and other measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. Egan Guerrero, an Agri Star supervisor, said the blockage was a result of "vandalism or sabotage," according to an April letter he sent to the Iowa DNR.
The department has sought in recent years to get Agri Star into compliance, but has not fined the company. It most recently issued violation notices to the company in November and December for excessive chloride and for failing to submit a required stream antidegradation analysis for some of its wastewater.
The company, through one of its operation managers, declined to comment for this article.
The Driftless group plans to file the federal lawsuit in about two months. The Clean Water Act allows such lawsuits when there is no pending enforcement action by state governments or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and it requires a 60-day notification period before the suit is filed.
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The Iowa DNR declined to comment for this article because litigation is pending.
In October, Bird decried a similar citizen suit in Washington state that she said seeks to wrest regulatory authority from states. The litigation strategy could be used against farmers, she said, by "woke green activists."
"It that's who we are, then I do think Iowans are becoming awakened to the fact that their water is becoming more contaminated and increasingly polluted, and that the pollution is affecting their health and well-being," said Jim Larew, an attorney for the Driftless group.
The group also is being represented by Public Justice and FarmSTAND, both of Washington, D.C., which have litigated environmental concerns on behalf of residents in other states.
“This potential citizen suit is an example of one of the key enforcement mechanisms of the (Clean Water) Act, ensuring that polluting industries are held accountable for violations of their permits,” said Dan Snyder, a Public Justice attorney. “There are many examples of these types of cases across the United States, for polluters are too often allowed to violate the law without meaningful enforcement.”
The Driftless group also has pending lawsuits against government officials in Winneshiek County, where it hopes to block the construction and operation of a manure digester.
Environmental group poised to sue Postville kosher meat plant
The lawsuit would be an uncommon move by residents to force compliance with the Clean Water Act. Agri Star Meat & Poultry has routinely violated its wastewater permit.
www.thegazette.com
Can we please talk about Santana
- Iowa Football
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Santana Banner Safety Recruiting Profile - ESPN
View the Santana Banner, Safety from Northern Illinois University recruiting profile including all the latest activity, status and school offer list on ESPN.
Now squeezebox/fran steal this link and duplipost this.
Thanx.
The Elon Musk Twitter shitshow
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Musk says he would support DeSantis in 2024
Elon Musk said he would support Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) if he runs for president in 2024. In a tweet responding to a user question on Friday, Musk said that he would support DeSantis. T…
thehill.com
Prolly Pepsi but I guess we know the real reason behind Trump's Panama Canal attacks...
First I'm seeing this but I'm usually slow to the table...
In June 2019, the owners of a Panama City hotel that was managed by Trump's businesses, and carried the Trump brand, accused two companies, Trump Panama Hotel Management LLC and and Trump International Hotels Management LLC, of not paying taxes on their Panamanian earnings.
www.newsweek.com
In June 2019, the owners of a Panama City hotel that was managed by Trump's businesses, and carried the Trump brand, accused two companies, Trump Panama Hotel Management LLC and and Trump International Hotels Management LLC, of not paying taxes on their Panamanian earnings.
Trump Organization accused of tax evasion in Panama: What we know
A hotel owner has accused Trump of evading millions of dollars in taxes in Panama.
www.newsweek.com
How old were your children when they started kindergarten?
We've been arguing about the age of the school shooter in another thread. This thread is just to get an idea of how many students start kindergarten at 6 rather than 5. Please share the age your child started school and their birth month (no need for SS numbers or their mother's maiden name 
).
).