The Campbell Co. has acknowledged liability for over 5,400 infringements of the Clean Water Act at the food giant’s facility in Napoleon, Ohio.
The admission, filed in a joint court document with the plaintiffs, pertains to violations occurring from April 2018 to December 2024.
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In March 2024, the US Department of Justice (DoJ), representing the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Environmental Law Center, acting on behalf of Environment Ohio and Lake Erie Waterkeeper [the plaintiffs], each initiated separate legal actions.
The lawsuits alleged that Campbell’s violated discharge limits for phosphorus, ammonia, and E. coli, along with other pollutants.
Just Food has approached Campbell’s for comment.
In its lawsuit, the DoJ had said Campbell’s facility in Napoleon, which processes and cans items such as fruit and vegetable juices, sauces, and soups, “failed to comply with its permitted wastewater limits for years”.
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By GlobalDataIt alleged the site’s “wastewater treatment plant is not designed to handle the wastewater generated by current operations and the discharges from the facility regularly exceed permitted limits for harmful pollutants”.
The tainted wastewater from the facility is discharged into the Maumee River, which then feeds into Lake Erie.
In a joint statement from the advocacy groups involved, Sandy Bihn, Lake Erie Waterkeeper since 2004, explained: “Pollution flowing into western Lake Erie from the Maumee River, containing Campbell’s phosphorus discharges, contributes to the lake’s toxic algal blooms.”
The joint stipulation, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, records Campbell’s agreement not to contest its liability in the case.
According to the statement, the company also acknowledged the legal standing of the citizen groups, whose members have been affected by the pollution.
John Rumpler, the clean water programme director for Environment Ohio, added: “Campbell’s admission that it committed these violations will speed this case toward a trial that will decide what steps the company must take to curb its pollution and how large a civil penalty should be imposed.
“We appreciate Campbell’s willingness to work cooperatively with us and the federal government to solve its compliance problems, rather than spending time and effort contesting clear-cut violations of the Clean Water Act.”
Under the Clean Water Act, private individuals can initiate legal proceedings against offenders in a federal court, in pursuit of civil penalties and judicial mandates to halt infractions and rectify environmental damage.
