BY CANDACE WAGNER
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed suit against Smithfield Foods, Inc. December 16 for up to $125 million. The company is accused of dumping illegal levels of hog waste into the Pagan River from their Virginia plants. The Pagan river flows into the Chesapeake Bay, a major focus of area environmentalists.

The suit charges Smithfield with chronic violations of discharge limits for a number of pollutants, including fecal coliform, phosphorus, ammonia, cyanide, oil and grease. The company is accused of 5,000 "Clean Water Act" violations since 1991.

The suit is limited to five years, but pollution from the Smithfield plants was also blamed by EPA officials for the high levels of coliform in the Pagan river that led to a ban on shellfish harvesting in 1970.

The plants discharging the waste are Smithfield subsidiaries Smithfield Packing Company and Gwaltney of Smithfield, Ltd. Both operate hog slaughtering and processing plants in Smithfield, Virginia. The parent company is the largest East Coast pork processor with revenues of nearly $4 billion per year.

Three days before the EPA suit was filed, the Virginia attorney general received a court order to force Smithfield to report waste-water spills and perform daily inspections of their waste-water containment facilities. These measures are already required by the company's operating permit with the state Department of Environmental Quality.

This action was taken after an inspection of the company's plant December 11 revealed that a waste spill outside of the plant limits had occurred earlier in the day and had not been reported. During the inspection another spill occurred.

Smithfield is appealing the court order for daily inspections of its waste water treatment plant. The company claims that the December 11 spills were exaggerated and not serious since they did not reach state waters.

The EPA launched the federal suit after accusing Virginia governor George Allen of minimal enforcement of state and federal environmental laws, particularly against Smithfield.

The meatpacking company contributed $125,000 to Governor Allen's 1995 effort to elect state legislators, making it the largest donor.

On December 9, a Virginia legislative audit was released that accused Allen of protecting corporate polluters and allowing the worsening of water quality in the state. The report specifically cited the lax enforcement of environmental laws against Smithfield Foods.

Candace Wagner is a member of United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 27 at Smithfield Packing in Landover, Maryland.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home