Create a free Manufacturing.net account to continue

NC Poultry Plant Fined For Wastewater Violations

A federal judge has ordered a poultry processor to pay a $150,000 fine for sending untreated wastewater containing blood and turkey parts directly to a city treatment plant. The judge also sentenced House of Raeford Farms Inc. to two years' probation and ordered the company to pay a special assessment of $4,000 for 10 counts of knowingly violating the Clean Water Act.

RAEFORD, N.C. (AP) -- A federal judge has ordered a North Carolina poultry processor to pay a $150,000 fine for sending untreated wastewater containing blood and turkey parts directly to a city treatment plant.

The judge also sentenced House of Raeford Farms Inc. to two years' probation and ordered the company to pay a special assessment of $4,000 for 10 counts of knowingly violating the Clean Water Act.

The U.S. Justice Department said that the poultry producer allowed employees to send untreated wastewater contaminated with blood, grease and body parts from slaughtered turkeys directly to the city of Raeford's wastewater treatment plant without telling city officials.

The company has said the government admitted during a trial last year that none of the materials it said went into the town's sewer system reached the environment.

More in Operations