Justice has finally been served in Iroquois County! In 2009, over 110,000 fish were killed after the R3E hog operation illegally discharged some 200,000 gallons of waste into a tributary of Spring Creek. The waste had been stored in holding ponds, but got into an underground pipe system that flows into the tributary.
Earlier this week, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office issued a press release stating that R3E will be paying over $80,000 to the State as a penalty for the discharge. $17,500 will go to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, which conducted inspections of the facility and stream. $63,782 will go to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for the value of the aquatic life destroyed by the discharge. The Attorney General’s Office continues to work with R3E on restoring the stream. This is welcome news because it costs the State (and taxpayers) a huge amount of money to investigate and prosecute illegal discharges.
Now that R3E has discharged, they are considered a discharger and will be issued a NPDES wastewater permit by Illinois EPA. The permit prohibits the facility from discharging except during unusually heavy rains.
