Organic giant Natural Selection Foods was recently cited and
fined by the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board for
violating its water discharge permit. Earlier this month the
company agreed to pay a $95,000 fine for the discharge violations.
It could have been fined up to $6.2 million for the violations.
Organic giant Natural Selection Foods was recently cited and fined by the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board for violating its water discharge permit. Earlier this month the company agreed to pay a $95,000 fine for the discharge violations. It could have been fined up to $6.2 million for the violations.
Although we think Natural Selection Foods clearly violated agreed-upon discharge rules, we agree with the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board in its decision to impose a fine far short of the $6.2 million maximum allowable under the law.
That Natural Selection Foods should be fined is clear. The company’s permit allowed it to discharge up to 70,000 gallons of wastewater from its plant per day onto a 36-acre alfalfa field. However, over the course of the 2005 and 2006 growing seasons, the company discharged an average of 274,000 gallons per day (nearly four times the amount allowed by the permit), with a maximum one-day discharge of 582,307 gallons (more than eight times the amount allowed) in July 2005, according a complaint filed by the regional water board.
Although it was violating discharge rules, the company was actively seeking a new discharge permit, which we believe justifies the relatively inexpensive fine. Natural Selection Foods was discharging more water, carefully reporting its discharge and working at the same time to get a new discharge permit. The company didn’t get the new permit in time and was fined.
According to the complaint, the company also expanded the 36-acre discharge field to 78 acres, abutting San Juan Creek, a tributary to the San Benito River, which flows into the Pajaro River. Water board investigators witnessed wastewater spilling from the field into the creek while reviewing the Natural Selection Foods plant. The high chlorine content of the wastewater could threaten aquatic life in the waterways, including steelhead trout.
We believe that since Natural Selection Foods cooperated with investigators and self-reported the discharge violations, the $95,000 fine is fair.
That being said, we sincerely hope the company quickly gets into compliance with water discharge rules. And we hope that the company will plan ahead next time before expanding operations, and get the proper permits before doing so. Should the violations continue, we expect the maximum civil penalties available under law to be enforced. Our water is a precious resource. It is up to all of us to make sure it is protected.
