July 27, 2006

 

The Conservation Law Foundation, a Vermont environmental group, announced plans to sue Pike Industries Inc. and Cabot Cooperative Creamery for illegally allowing pollutants to enter the state’s waterways.

According to the Burlington Free Press, the two companies did not obtain permits to control the disposal of industrial pollutants through storm water drainage systems at their plants. Therefore, the companies violated the federal Clean Water Act.

CLF also blames the state of Vermont for the pollution, because it took 16 years to create rules to regulate the discharge. A draft of the rules issued this year is still being reviewed.

The pollutants discharged from the Pike plants mostly involve phosphorus, in addition to other industrial chemicals and sediment debris.

Cabot Creamery is being sued primarily for a 2005 spill at a facility where ammonia was reportedly dumped into a storm water drain. The ammonia ended up in the Winnoski River, killing fish and wildlife along a five-mile stretch.

The Clean Water Act states that the companies have 60 days to bring themselves into compliance with the act before CLF can proceed with its lawsuit.

Source: Burlington Free Press   July 27, 2006