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CSPA Advisory June 10, 2010 

CSPA Sues North State Rendering


By Bill Jennings, CSPA Executive Director
June 10, 2010 -- CSPA filed a lawsuit against North State Rendering Co., for massive violations of the federal Clean Water Act and the state's General Industrial Stormwater Permit. The facility is a 13-acre animal rendering facility in Oroville California that processes tallow, grease and animal by-products to make soap, candles and pet and livestock feed. Stormwater from the facility discharges pollutants to Gold Creek, which flows into Dry Creek and ultimately the Sacramento River and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

The lawsuit alleges that wastes discharged from the facility egregiously exceed allowable standards and benchmarks for total suspended solids, specific conductivity, chemical oxygen demand and biochemical oxygen demand. It further alleges the facility has failed to: 1) develop and implement standard Best Available and Best Conventional Treatment Technologies, 2) develop and implement an adequate Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, 3) develop and implement an adequate Monitoring and Reporting Program and 4) truthfully certify its annual reports.

The action asks the court to: 1) declare North State Rendering to be in violation of the law; 2) enjoin defendants from discharging pollutants to surface waters and from further violating the substantive and procedural requirements of the permit; and 3) order North State Rendering to immediately implement pollution control and treatment technologies, comply with monitoring and reporting requirements, prepare a legally adequate stormwater pollution plan, take appropriate actions to restore the quality of waters impaired by their its activities, pay civil penalties for each day of violation and reimburse CSPA the costs of bringing the complaint.

Jackson & Tuerck and the Law Offices of Andrew Packard are representing CSPA in this matter.

Read the lawsuit.