US Beef Plant to Pay $2m Fine

US beef producer JBS Souderton has agreed to pay $2m for failing to comply with the federal Clean Water Act, federal officials have said.

As part of the consent decree, the company has also agreed to construct a $6m wastewater treatment plant, install monitoring equipment, improve record keeping and training, and upgrade pipes that lead to the wastewater treatment plant.

The plant, formerly known as Smithfield Beef Group, has been spilling pollutants into neighbouring waterways since 2003, according to a federal complaint filed in December 2008.

The plant in Montgomery discharged pollutants into the Skippack Creek, which is a tributary of the Perkiomen Creek and the Schuylkill River.

The US Department of Justice said polluted water from the plant killed nearly 25,000 fish between 2007 and 2008.