Darigold agrees to hefty fine for discharging excessive amounts of E. coli in Boise River
Darigold’s milk processing plant in Caldwell was slapped with a hefty fine from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for allegedly dumping E. coli into the lower Boise River.
The EPA accused the plant, located at 520 Albany St., of exceeding pollutant limits in its discharges, failing to conduct required inspections and mismanaging storm water in violation of the Clean Water Act, according to a news release Friday.
Darigold agreed to pay the $318,000 fine, which was issued in September. The penalty was the second largest (Clearwater Paper in Lewiston had the first) from the EPA last year in the agency’s Region 10, which includes Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. The company did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment.
The Caldwell plant processes dairy products including nonfat dried milk, cream and butter. It employed over 100 people in 2022, according to a prior news release from the company.
While processing those products, the EPA said the plant discharged 300,000 gallons a day of evaporated condensate of whey through its outfall into the lower Boise River. Outfalls are pipelines or tunnels that discharge municipal or industrial wastewater, storm water and sewer overflows to a body of water, according to the EPA. The lower Boise River connects to the Snake River and then to the Columbia River before emptying into the Pacific Ocean.
Any company that discharges or plans to discharge storm water associated with industrial activity has to apply for a permit. Darigold has one.
But the EPA said Darigold exceeded the monthly average concentration limits for biochemical oxygen demand in January, August and October of 2020. Biochemical oxygen demand is the amount of oxygen consumed by bacteria and other microorganisms while they decompose organic matter at a certain temperature, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The agency also said the plant exceeded allowable bacteria counts for E. coli three times in January and May of 2020 and May 2021. The permit allowed for 406 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters or less as the instantaneous maximum. The plant was discharging 2,400 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters.
The EPA said Darigold did not implement necessary control measures to minimize the pollutant discharges, such as protecting the trash compactor with storm-resistant coverings or ensuring proper containment of leaks and spills. The plant also did not conduct at least one routine inspection during a period of storm water discharge in 2020, which it was required to do, the agency said.
Darigold is a subsidiary of the Northwest Dairy Association, a dairy farm cooperative owned by about 430 families in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. The cooperative is headquartered in Seattle.
