08/04/2010 // West Palm Beach, FL, USA // Tara Monks // Tara Monks
Twin Falls, ID – According to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announcement issued Tuesday, July 3, 2010, Rainbow Trout Farms, Inc., agreed to pay the EPA $98,002 in order to settle allegations that the facility violated the federal Clean Water Act.
Rainbow Trout Farms, Inc. is a fish hatchery and processing facility located near Filer, Idaho.
According to the announcement, Rainbow Trout reported significantly higher levels of total residual chlorine, a toxic pollutant, than allowed by the company’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. The violations occurred between October 2007 and August 2008.
The NPDES permit program regulates sources that discharge pollutants to waters in the U.S.
EPA reviews showed that Rainbow Trout also regularly failed to provide valid reports of chlorine limits for more than four years.
Other NPDES violations include:
Exceeding monthly limits for total suspended solids, bio-chemical oxygen demand, and pH.
Failing to report these exceedances to EPA.
Failing to sample and report all parameters in June 2008.
According to Seattle-based NPDES Compliance Manager Kim Ogle, the Clean Water Act’s NPDES program relies on permit holders to provide information on pollution levels at their facilities. She added, “It’s disturbing that, month after month for years, this sophisticated operator failed to provide valid information to EPA on chlorine, a pollutant extremely toxic to fish and other organic organisms.”
Media Information:
Address: Filer, Idaho
Phone: (561) 865-6021
Url: http://TaraMonks.visionsmartnews.com/idaho-rainbow-trout-farms-pays-epa-98002_1728.html