Sept. 10, 2002 -- For conspiring to violate the Clean Water Act, Lakeview Packing Co. of Snowhill, N.C., was sentenced to pay a $75,000 fine and serve five years probation on Aug. 5 in U.S. Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina in Greenville. Lakeview Packing is a hog slaughter and processing company.
In its previous plea, the defendant admitted that it conspired with its employees to intentionally discharge processing wastes from its facility through a drainage pipe into Tyson Marsh which empties into Contentnea Creek, which is a tributary of the Neuse River.
The amount discharged averaged approximately 30,000 gallons per day. The discharge of animal processing wastes into surface waters can make them unsafe for drinking and recreation and can promote the growth of microorganisms such as pfisteria which can be harmful to fish, wildlife and humans.
The case was investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and EPA's National Enforcement Investigations Center. It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's office in Greenville.
