State sues Tyson Farms over wastewater spill
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WBRC) - Alabama’s Attorney General Steve Marshall and a number of state environmental agencies are suing Tyson Farms for spilling 220,000 gallons of wastewater into the Mulberry Fork River in Hanceville Alabama in June 2019, resulting in the death of more than 100,000 fish.
According to records, the civil action suit against Tyson is for violating of the Alabama Water Pollution Control Act.
The state, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is seeking damages for actual costs incurred by ADEM and for civil penalties.
“Our hope through this litigation is to be able to put money back into that river and back into that community to be able to restore it to where it was before that discharge took place,” Marshall said.
After ADEM faced criticism for lack of oversight after the Tyson spill, ADEM Director Lance Lefluer promised in a letter published in the Daily News, that ADEM would hold Tyson accountable for any violation of the clean water act, for fixing the environmental damage, and for the loss of natural resources.
Tyson Farms released an open letter to the residents of hanceville and the surrounding areas shortly after the incident occured.
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