SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality fined a creamery for river water pollution caused by dumping milk in 2019, officials said.
The $26,574 fine was levied against Organic Valley for dumping by its McMinnville Creamery, The Statesman Journal reported Friday. The creamery discharged 87 gallons of condensed skim milk and 384 pounds of milk solids into a storm drain that leads to a tributary of the South Yamhill River on Jan. 5, the environmental quality department said.
The creamery discharged milk into the same drain June 25, which turned the creek white for nearly three-quarters of a mile, the department said.
Organic Valley does not plan to appeal the fine, spokeswoman Elizabeth McMullen said.
Organic Valley, the nation’s largest organic farming cooperative, recently upgraded systems designed to prevent accidental discharges at the McMinnville plant and has reviewed proper procedures with production employees, McMullen said.
