Attorney General's News Release

Nov. 6, 1998

Simmons Foods to pay $500,000 and comply with new discharge limits under consent order

Jefferson City, Mo. —Attorney General Jay Nixon today announced that Simmons Foods Inc. will pay $500,000 in penalties and costs for past violations of the Missouri Clean Water Law at its poultry processing operation near Southwest City.

Under the consent order signed today by Circuit Court Judge Timothy Perigo, Simmons also must comply with new limitations on discharges from the Southwest City plant and make significant reductions in the amount of chicken litter that is land-applied from Simmons' farms in the Honey Creek and Elk River watersheds.

"This agreement breaks new ground in protecting water quality in southwest Missouri and northeast Oklahoma," Nixon said. "We have a court order that legally binds Simmons to make significant improvements and spells out specific penalties the company will have to pay if this order is violated. I am proud of the work done by our attorneys and by staff from the Department of Natural Resources in reaching this milestone agreement.

"We are addressing the pollution problem not only at the plant discharge point but also in the areas where chicken litter is applied at Simmons' farms," Nixon said. "In addition to the new limits on discharges from the Southwest City plant, Simmons must implement land application management plans for all its poultry farms and contract poultry farms in Missouri.

"For the first time, there will be parameters on discharges of phosphorus into this environmentally sensitive watershed," Nixon said. "These are important limitations that will be legally binding upon Simmons while its discharge permit is being reviewed by the DNR."

Today's court order calls for Simmons to:

• Pay a $443,000 civil penalty to the McDonald County School Fund.
• Pay $57,000 to the Missouri DNR for the costs of investigation.
• Limit the amount of phosphorus discharged from the Southwest City plant to a monthly average of one part per million, with a daily maximum discharge of two parts per million.
• Remove 40 percent of all poultry litter from its farms in the Honey Creek and Elk River watersheds.
• Implement the land application plans for its farms, with an emphasis on phosphorus.
• Construct a $2 million wastewater treatment plant as agreed to under a decree reached last summer with the Attorney General's Office.
• Provide to the DNR projections of the upcoming year's production to ensure adequate wastewater treatment capabilities.
• Pay a stipulated penalty of $2,500 for each violation of the court order.

The court order, which resolves the lawsuit Nixon filed against Simmons in May 1997, also mandates that the company comply with the provisions of the Missouri Clean Water Law.

The Simmons operation at Southwest City processes approximately 1.4 million chickens a week and discharges its wastewater to a tributary of the Cave Spring Branch, which ultimately flows into the Grand Lake of the Cherokees.

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818