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The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (“LDEQ”) and Louisiana Sugar Cane Cooperative, Inc. (“Cooperative”) entered into a January 7th Settlement Agreement (“SA”) addressing alleged violations of a Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“LPDES”) Permit. See SA-MM-25-0011.
The SA provides that the Cooperative owns and operates a raw sugar cane factory located in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana. The Cooperative is stated to have been issued an LPDES Permit.
LDEQ is stated to have conducted an inspection of the facility on January 27, 2021. The following violations are alleged to have been noted:
- Failure to comply with LPDES Permit (failure to collect composite samples over a 24-hour period).
- Causing and/or allowing the unauthorized discharge of wastewater into waters of the state from a location not authorized by LPDES Permit and failure to properly operate and maintain all facilities and systems of treatment and control.
- Failure to maintain waters of the state in an aesthetically attractive condition and to meet water quality standards (black residue was observed downstream from the point of the unauthorized discharge).
- Causing and/or allowing the unauthorized disposal and/or processing of solid waste (black residue observed downstream from the point of the unauthorized discharge).
The Cooperative denies it committed any violations or that it is liable for any fines, forfeitures, and/or penalties.
The SA civil penalty of $7,600.
A copy of the SA can be found here.
