An alphabet soup of pollutants has for years been pouring from a Campbell Soup plant into a river that feeds Lake Erie, posing an ongoing threat to humans and wildlife, according to environmentalists and the US Department of Justice.
The soup giant has been dumping wastewater containing E. coli, phosphorous and other contaminants from its Napoleon, Ohio, plant into the Maumee River, according to two separate lawsuits, filed by the DOJ and the groups Environment America and Lake Erie Waterkeeper.
The illegally high levels of phosphorous have contributed to Lake Erie’s toxic algae blooms, which pose an annual threat to humans, animals and the area drinking water, Environment America alleged.
“The toxic algae in Lake Erie is hardly the kind of soup that Ohioans want from a company like Campbell,” said John Rumpler, a director with Environment Ohio, part of Environment America, in a news release.
“Installing a modern wastewater treatment system to end its Clean Water Act violations is nothing less than what Campbell’s millions of loyal consumers would expect.”
Oil and grease are also among the regularly discharged pollutants, the groups claim.
The Ohio facility, which is one of Campbell’s largest in North America, generates millions of gallons of wastewater from its canning operations, which produce soups, juices and sauces.
Campbell’s own monitoring reports revealed it has committed thousands of Clean Water Act violations over the past five years, the environmental groups said.
It is facing fines for more than 5,000 violations, which carry penalties as high as $64,618 each.
The two suits are likely to be combined.
The organizations are demanding the company upgrade its wastewater treatment facility.
A spokesperson for Campbell’s said in a statement the company takes the concerns very seriously and is acting to permanently resolve them.
With Post wires
