Published: 12/22/2021 5:06:41 PM
Modified: 12/22/2021 5:06:26 PM
MONTAGUE — The president of Greenleaf Foods, SPC — also known as Lightlife Foods — released a statement this week to affirm that the company’s pH regulation issues that are the subject of a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been resolved.
The statement from Greenleaf Foods President Dan Curtin comes after the EPA announced its settlement on Monday. The settlement addresses violations of Clean Water Act pretreatment regulations by the soy-based food production facility.
An investigation conducted by the EPA found that Lightlife Foods at 153 Industrial Blvd. discharged low-pH wastewater into the town’s sewer collection system, corroding pipes, killing beneficial microbes and causing odor. The settlement, which includes a $252,000 penalty benefiting the EPA, necessitated usage of a wastewater pretreatment system by Lightlife Foods to help the company stay in line with regulations.
“EPA’s settlement with Lightlife Foods has ensured that wastewater discharges leaving their facility are no longer damaging the town of Montague’s wastewater infrastructure,” Environmental Protection Agency New England Acting Regional Administrator Deb Szaro said in a press release.
Lightlife Foods’ regulatory violation — the improper sewage disposal of acidic cleaners and lactic acid used to soak soybeans — is the company’s latest infraction in Montague. According to the town’s website, Lightlife Foods submitted “multiple monthly reports” greater than 30 days after the due dates from September 2019 to April 2020 and failed to “report violations of oil and grease local limits” in January and February 2020.
Curtin said Lightlife Foods was “very concerned” after receiving word of its violations, noting that the company had been sampling its wastewater pH and “felt confident” in its compliance with regulations. After identifying the issue, he wrote, the company provided an interim solution before completing the installation of a permanent pretreatment system in February.
“We are confident that our new system ensures we are operating the facility in full compliance with environmental laws,” Curtin wrote.
Water Pollution Control Facility Superintendent Chelsey Little previously said Lightlife Foods’ violations were identified by the EPA after the Water Pollution Control Facility reported processing issues. She hesitated to isolate Lightlife Foods as the sole cause for the issues, but said the EPA’s investigation found the company’s wastewater pH levels to be at least a significant factor. Rather than having a pH close to 7 — which is the level of pure water — the pH was radically toward the acidic end of the scale, closer to the pH of lemon juice or gastric acid.
“This isn’t like a 6 pH,” Little explained. “It was like a 1 or a 2.”
Curtin added that, while the company is “deeply sorry for any concerns this has raised among community members,” he isn’t aware of any structural damage caused to Montague’s wastewater infrastructure.
“We are relieved that to our knowledge,” he wrote, “no damage was caused by the instances of low-pH wastewater discharge from the facility.”
The lasting impact on the town’s wastewater infrastructure remains unclear, however. Montague Department of Public Works Superintendent Tom Bergeron, when reached earlier this week, said his department is in conversations with the Wright-Pierce engineering firm about spring infrastructure projects, with a condition that assessment and possible repairs to the town’s sewer system have the potential to be included.
Curtin also said he believes Lightlife Foods’ use of a “new and effective water treatment solution reflects (the) company’s commitment to protecting our environment.”
“Our company is strongly committed to complying with all local, state and federal environmental laws,” he wrote, “and to protecting the local environments in which we operate.”
Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or [email protected].
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