City of Postville, Iowa. (Photo via Google Earth)
A nonprofit advocacy group is suing Agri Star Meat & Poultry of Postville for alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act.
Driftless Water Defenders, an Iowa organization that is focused on water-quality issues, is suing the ag giant in U.S. District Court for the Southern District Iowa over the company’s practices at its beef and poultry slaughterhouse in Postville.
The lawsuit claims Agri Star has a long and well-documented history of water-pollution violations and that the company continues to discharge pollutants into Hecker Creek, an Iowa tributary of the Yellow River.
Both Hecker Creek and the Yellow River are now listed on the federal government’s list of “impaired waterways.”
The lawsuit also takes aim at the state for an alleged lack of enforcement action, stating that on Dec. 23, 2024, Driftless Water Defenders served notice of the violations and its intent to file suit in letters sent to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Since then, the lawsuit claims, neither the EPA nor the DNR has initiated or prosecuted a civil or criminal action to address Agri Star’s alleged violations of the Clean Water Act, nor have they imposed any administrative penalties.
Under the Clean Water Act, facilities such as the one in Postville must self-monitor and self-report pollution discharges. According to the plaintiffs, Agri Star’s reports indicate that over a period of years, there have been significant and repeated instances of the Postville plant exceeding pollution limits in waterways adjacent to the facility.
The organization also alleges Agri Star has failed to conduct sampling, and report sampling results, for a wide range of pollutants.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction to prevent continued violations, as well as an order compelling Agri Star to pay civil penalties of up to $68,445 per day for each violation of the Clean Water Act.
“The Yellow River has traditionally been one of Iowa’s recreational crown jewels – clean water where citizens can fish, hike, canoe and kayak,” said Chris Jones, president of Driftless Water Defenders. “The Iowa Code describes our waters as the ‘wealth’ of the people. If governmental agencies won’t enforce our clean water laws, citizens must step in to do that.”
Last year, Investigate Midwest reported that in the previous two decades, the city of Postville, one of the poorest cities in Iowa, was the site of five EPA enforcement actions – the highest number in Iowa. Of those five cases, four were linked to Agri Star, according to Investigate Midwest’s analysis.
In March 2024, officials in Postville were forced to shut down the city’s water treatment facility for two days to prevent polluted water from the Agri Star plant entering the public water supply.
The plant had reportedly discharged more than 250,000 gallons of untreated food-processing waste — including blood and chemicals — into the city-operated wastewater system, Investigate Midwest reported. Agri Star was fined $2,000.
Agri Star is a privately owned company, but estimates of its annual revenue range from $35 million to $108 million. Company officials did not respond Wednesday to calls from the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
Earlier this year, Driftless Water Defenders announced its plans to appeal a DNR decision to renew the permit for a 10,000-head cattle operation in Clayton County.