NEW YORK – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice have settled a case against FrieslandCampina Ingredients North America, Inc. of Delhi for violations of the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act.
The company’s discharge led to excessive pollution that interfered with and passed through the Village of Delhi wastewater treatment plant into the West Branch of the Delaware River which is part of the watershed supplying drinking water to New York City and other water systems.
The action also addresses the company’s Clean Air Act violations which led to excessive emissions of toluene, a volatile organic compound and hazardous air pollutant. The company will pay a civil penalty of $2.88 million and has already addressed the causes of the violations.
Friesland will perform a supplemental environmental project to significantly reduce its discharges of heated water to the river at a cost of $1.44 million.
As a significant industrial source under the Clean Water Act, Friesland must first treat its wastewater – a process referred to as pre-treatment – before discharging it to the local municipal wastewater treatment plant.
Proper pre-treatment prevents excessive pollution levels, which can interfere with the effectiveness of the wastewater treatment plant and can cause untreated pollutants to pass through the plant into receiving waters. In this case, the pollution levels that the company discharged exceeded levels set by the Village of Delhi on at least 65 occasions.
The company also failed to comply with the requirement of New York’s industrial stormwater permit, which prohibits the exposure of industrial materials and activities to rain, snow, snowmelt, or runoff that can transport pollutants to surface waters.
The company is also a major source of toluene emissions under the Clean Air Act. Exposure to toluene can harm the nervous system and negatively impact the kidney, liver, and immune system. Friesland failed to obtain the proper permit coverage for its toluene emissions and to install the necessary emission controls and violated other permitting and reporting requirements.
As a result of EPA’s enforcement actions, Friesland has completed approximately $6 million worth of work to come into compliance with all applicable requirements.
