Please leave this field empty
Donate Monthly Make a Gift Renew Your Membership Ways to Give
Food & Water Watch Food & Water Watch Food & Water Watch
  • About
  • Problems
  • Campaigns
  • Impacts
  • Research
  • Contact
Donate Monthly Make a Gift Renew Your Membership Ways to Give
  • facebook
  • twitter
Please leave this field empty
Food & Water Watch Food & Water Watch
$
Menu
  • About
  • News
  • Research Library
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Donate
Search
Please leave this field empty
  • facebook
  • twitter

Now We're Suing JBS for Air Pollution

The Center for Biological Diversity and Food & Water Watch sent a formal notice of intent​ to sue JBS-USA for air pollution violations

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • google-plus
  • envelope

We all need safe food and clean water.

Donate
cows packed together
By Jackie Filson
10.1.19

Earlier this year, we sued JBS-USA over severe water pollution violations at its Greeley Beef Plant in Colorado. Now, we're getting ready to sue them again because instead of actually cleaning up their act, the company just started polluting our air.

Background

The Greeley Beef Plant in Colorado is a beef slaughter and meat processing plant, but it also preserves animal hides. The animal hides are preserved by soaking them in saltwater and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides.

As a result, the Plant generates millions of gallons of "salt-brine wastewater" ( 5.2 million gallons per year) that often contain high concentrations of VOCs and nitrogen oxides along with animal fat, meat, and blood.

The Plant was surreptitiously dumping the vulgar wastewater directly into Colorado's waterways. 

Water Pollution ⇣ Air Pollution ⇡

We sued JBS-USA under the Clean Water Act and the company responded by installing a "salt evaporator," claiming it would address the water pollution problem.

It turns out, that while the salt evaporator may mitigate water pollution (if used diligently, which it wasn't), it does not mitigate pollution entirely. When VOCs and nitrogen oxides (like the kind in the salt-brine wastewater) are released into the air, ground-level ozone pollution — commonly referred to as smog — can be created.

Rather than reducing pollution, JBS-USA has effectively traded in clean air for clean water on behalf of Colorado.

Why We're Suing

Smog is a serious threat to public health and the environment ➠ it can harm threatened animal species, destroy ecosystems, worsen asthma attacks, increase hospital visits, and even kill people.

Right now, JBS-USA is also failing to comply with mandates to monitor for smog pollution.

The notice of intent gives JBS-USA 60 days to resolve the violations. The Center for Biological Diversity and Food & Water Watch are represented in this action by counsel with the nonprofit legal advocacy organization Public Justice, as well as in-house counsel.

Related Links

  • Groups Alert Colorado Slaughterhouse of Intent to Sue for Clean Air Act Violations
Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version

Monsanto's Roundup is a "probable human carcinogen." We need to ban it!

Get the latest on your food and water with news, research and urgent actions.

Please leave this field empty

Latest News

  • Fracking Endgame: It's Literally Us Or The Frackers

    Fracking Endgame: It's Literally Us Or The Frackers

  • Mark Ruffalo, Emma Thompson Among 400+ To Call On UN To Demand A Ban On Fracking

  • Agricultural run off in Iowa

    We’re Suing Iowa for Choosing Big Ag Over Clean Water

See More News & Opinions

For Media: See our latest press releases and statements

Food & Water Insights

Looking for more insights and our latest research?

Visit our policy & research library
  • Cap and Trade: More Pollution for the Poor and People of Color

  • What the SLUDGE Is This?

  • Costco’s New Poultry Farms Are a Bad Deal for Iowa

Fracking activist with stickersFracking activist in hatLegal team loves family farmsFood & Water Watch organizer protecting your food

Work locally, make a difference.

Get active in your community.

Food & Water Impact

  • Victories
  • Stories
  • Facts
  • Trump, Here's a Better Use for $25 Billion

  • Here's How We're Going to Build the Clean Energy Revolution

  • How a California Activist Learned to Think Locally

Keep drinking water safe and affordable for everyone.

Take Action
food & water watch logo
en Español

Food & Water Watch mobilizes regular people to build political power to move bold & uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate problems of our time. We work to protect people’s health, communities, and democracy from the growing destructive power of the most powerful economic interests.

Food & Water Watch is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

Food & Water Action is a 501(c)4 organization.

Food & Water Watch Headquarters

1616 P Street, NW,
Washington, DC 20036

Main: 202.683.2500

Contact your regional office.

Work with us: See all job openings

  • Problems
    • Broken Democracy
    • Climate Change & Environment
    • Corporate Control of Food
    • Corporate Control of Water
    • Factory Farming & Food Safety
    • Fracking
    • GMOs
    • Global Trade
    • Pollution Trading
  • Solutions
    • Advocate Fair Policies
    • Legal Action
    • Organizing for Change
    • Research & Policy Analysis
  • Our Impact
    • Facts
    • Stories
    • Victories
  • Take Action
    • Get Active Where You Live
    • Organizing Tools
    • Find an Event
    • Volunteer with Us
    • Live Healthy
    • Donate
  • Give
    • Give Now
    • Give Monthly
    • Give a Gift Membership
    • Membership Options
    • Fundraise
    • Workplace Giving
    • Planned Giving
    • Other Ways to Give
  • About
  • News
  • Research Library
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Donate
Learn more about Food & Water Action www.foodandwateraction.org.
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • 2019 © Food & Water Watch
  • www.foodandwaterwatch.org
  • Terms of Service
  • Data Usage Policy