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GRAND ISLAND — Following the breach of a wastewater lagoon Saturday morning at JBS in Grand Island, about 4 million gallons of wastewater were discharged from the lagoon, with approximately 2 million gallons leaving the property.
“Wastewater leaving the property went into a ditch near the facility, which leads to the Wood River,” said the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.
JBS said “an issue with a wastewater lagoon at our Grand Island, Neb., beef production facility caused a release of partially treated wastewater” Saturday morning.
“JBS took immediate action to reduce any impacts and has been coordinating with state and federal officials, and working with third-party contractors to handle remediation and cleanup activities, and advise on repairs and preventive measures,” the company said in statement Tuesday.
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The company said the release has been stopped, and the plant is open and operating normally. That statement came from JBS spokeswoman Nikki Richardson, who works in Greeley, Colorado.
The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy said JBS had a breach of one of its anaerobic wastewater lagoons at about 5 a.m. Saturday. “The facility estimates approximately 4 million gallons of wastewater discharged from the lagoon with approximately 2 million gallons leaving the property,” a statement said.
“The facility ceased operation at 6:45 a.m. and notified NDEE of the discharge at 8 a.m.,” the statements said. “NDEE personnel arrived on-site at approximately 12:20 p.m. that day. NDEE personnel observed and documented the situation on site. At approximately 3 p.m. on Saturday, NDEE personnel observed evidence of wastewater as far as 1.5 miles downstream from the facility in the Wood River.”
On Sunday, “Swift Beef (a JBS subsidiary) contracted a cleanup company and eight vacuum trucks were seen on site by NDEE personnel. On Sunday, NDEE personnel observed evidence that the discharge had reached the Platte River, approximately 15 river miles from the facility. NDEE is not aware of any immediate health risks posed by this situation but recommends avoiding all direct contact with the impacted stream segments until additional information is available,” the statement said.
In December, Swift was ordered to pay $275,000 in civil penalties to resolve alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act. The Environmental Protection Agency said Swift failed to comply with Clean Water Act permit limits for numerous pollutants at the Grand Island facility.
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