ARCHIVE PAGE 47
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- CARE's Helen Reddout speaks out
- Court finds WA factory dairies violated Clean Water Act
- SUNNYSIDE day (8-3-99)--A federal court has ruled that two Lower Yakima Valley factory dairies repeatedly violated the Clean water Act by discharging cow manure and industrial dairy waste into the local waterways. The court found the Henry Bosma and Liberty Dairies of Sunnyside had numerous past and ongoing Act violations.
- The court found that the dairies were strictly liable for 15 specific violations of the Act over a five-year period. Court opinion says "Bosma continues to violate the CWA and there is a likelihood there will be recurrent violations at the Bosma dairies."
- The case is especially important because of the large amount of pollution caused by factory dairies in central Washington. There are over 66,000 dairy cows in the Yakima Valley. Each full grown dairy cow produces 13.5 tons of manure annually. Together, Yakima County factory dairies produce waste equivalent to that of 1.3 million people, more than twice the population of Seattle.
- Local farmers bring suit
- The court action was brought by the Community Association for Restoration of the Environment (CARE), a Sunnyside organization working to restore waterways polluted by the factory dairies. All of CARE's board members are farmers in the community.
- "The court has ruled that these factory dairies are violating the law and harming our community's water,' said Mary Lynne Bos, an asparagus farmer and CARE board member. "We are farmers ourselves, and we want dairies and farms to operate in this valley, but in a clean and responsible way."
- "This is a victory for our community's environment," said Helen Reddout, a cherry farmer and CARE board member. "With today's court ruling, we have accomplished the first step, which is determining that there is a serious and ongoing water pollution problem. Now we can move on to the next step of cleaning up the manure and waste that is polluting our water."
- Legal rulings break new ground
- In a groundbreaking ruling, the court found that the irrigation ditches and canals leading into the Yakima River are protected by the clean Water Act. This is the first such ruling of its kind anywhere in the country.
- This ruling builds on other precedent-setting rulings made by the court earlier in the case. In May, the court ruled that the factory dairies are Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) subject to the Clean Water Act, and that the manure lagoons and fields where dairy waste is stored and applied are integral parts of the CAFO. Additionally, the court ruled that the lagoons, transportation equipment and fields where manure is applied are are all point sources subject to the Clean Water Act.
- "This court decision sends a message that factory dairies need to comply with the Clean Water Act and protect their community's water," said attorney Charlie Tebbutt of the Western Environmental Law Center, the law firm representing CARE. "After years of ignoring the law, these dairies are finally being held accountable for their pollution."
- Case now enters penalty phase
- Now that the dairies have been found liable for Clean Water Act violations, the case will proceed to a penalty phase. A second trial concerning penalties and injunctive relief (changes that are need to ensure compliance with the Clean Water Act) will occur this fall. for each day of violations proven by CARE, the factory dairies are liable for penalties up to $27,500, which are paid to the U.S. Treasury.
- "Our chief concern is cleaning up the water pollution caused by these factory dairies," said Reddout. "We want to ensure these operations are complying with the Clean Water Act and our community's water is kept safe and clean."
"In the end, this is rally about our future," said Reddout. "We are farmers who have lived here most of our lives, and we want to leave a clean and safe valley for our grandchildren."