The DOJ said the company, a subsidiary of Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale, Ark., violated a 2002 agreement with the government to limit its discharges into the river from a beef processing facility in Dakota City, Neb. The government said the company did not adequately treat the wastewater it discharges into the river, and as a result, fecal coliform and nitrates were discharged. The DOJ said that the discharges caused high levels of toxicity to aquatic life in the river.
Regulators said Tyson discharges an average of 5 million gallons of treated wastewater from the facility into the river each day. Tyson Foods said the wastewater issues at the plant had been resolved and the water treatment system there was operating effectively.
