Tyson Poultry fined $2 million for criminal clean water violations in Missouri

Tyson Poultry Inc., the factory chicken supplier that ran into a buzzsaw of opposition this month when it tried to open an operation near Tonganoxie, Kan., on Wednesday agreed to pay $2 million for a 2014 environmental spill in Monett, Mo.

It was “an unfortunate mistake,” the company said in a statement, when it released an animal feed ingredient into the Monett wastewater treatment system and caused a fish kill in a nearby stream.

The 2014 discharge of a substance known as Alimet made it into the water treatment plant for the city of Monett. It was ultimately responsible for causing the deaths of more than 100,000 fish, according to documents filed in federal court.

The company pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Springfield to two counts of violating the Clean Water Act.

The company will be on probation for two years and besides the fine will pay $500,000 to maintain and restore waters in the Monett area.

“Tyson’s admitted criminal conduct caused significant environmental damage, including a large-scale fish kill,” Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Larson of the Western District of Missouri said in a written statement. “Today’s plea agreement not only holds Tyson accountable for its actions in Missouri, but requires the company to take steps to insure compliance with the Clean Water Act at its poultry facilities throughout the United States.”

As part of the plea agreement, Tyson will also implement environmental compliance programs that include:

▪ Hiring an independent auditor to examine all of its poultry facilities to ensure they comply with the Clean Water Act;

▪ Conducting environmental training at its poultry processing plants, hatcheries, feed mills, rendering plants and waste water treatment plants;

▪ And implementing improved policies and procedures to address the circumstances that led to the 2014 incident.

“We deeply regret the mistake that was made and have taken corrective action to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Tyson’s statement said. “We’re committed to doing better in all areas of our business, especially when it comes to protecting the environment.”

The Monett spill was the kind of “unfortunate mistake” that many Tonganoxie and Leavenworth County citizens feared would happen to them if Tyson set up a poultry operation on a 300-acre site south of Tonganoxie. They also feared school crowding and other pressures on the local community. The Leavenworth County Commission took back an offer for $500 million in industrial bonds for the plant because of the opposition.

Not all communities are deterred, however.

Saline County, Kan., is hoping Tyson will open a chicken plant up the road in Cloud County and Concordia. The Saline County commission says the $300 million project would benefit the entire region.

Iowa last week awarded Tyson Foods $2.4 million in tax incentives to expand a pork plant in Waterloo.

This story was originally published September 27, 2017 at 12:55 PM with the headline "Tyson Poultry fined $2 million for criminal clean water violations in Missouri."