PA Food Processing Plant Fined $1.1M For Pollution Violations In Chesapeake Tributary

Hanover Foods, a food processing and canning plant south of the state capital, must pay $1.1M in penalties and improve its wastewater treatment system as part of a consent decree filed in court today by EPA and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Hanover Foods, at 1550 York Street, in Hanover, violated its water pollution control permit on hundreds of occasions between 2016 and 2021, including by exceeding its limits for releasing pollution into Oil Creek, which flows to Codorus Creek, a popular fishing stream, and then the Susquehanna River, the Chesapeake Bay’s largest tributary, according to the consent decree filed in court.

On September 24, 2021, Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association and Environmental Integrity Project sued Hanover Foods in federal court for failure to comply with the Clean Water Act and then began working with EPA and Pennsylvania DEP to address the violations.

“It is good to see that this significant source of water pollution will finally be addressed,” said Ted Evgeniadis, the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper. “Nobody should be allowed to despoil York County’s streams or the Susquehanna River – and if they do, they should be required to clean up the problem, as has finally happened with Hanover Foods.”

Sarah Kula, Attorney for the Environmental Integrity Project, said: “It is great news that Hanover is taking real action to address Clean Water Act violations at its facility and ensure compliance in the future. We were pleased to work with EPA and the Pennsylvania DEP to reach this important agreement to protect Codorus Creek. It’s encouraging to see the government agencies working cooperatively with local clean water activists to solve a problem like this.”

After the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper and Environmental Integrity Project filed the lawsuit over the pollution in 2021, on February 25, 2022, EPA issued an administrative order requiring the company to study the problem and come up with a corrective action plan.

According to the consent decree filed in court, Hanover Foods must install a new boiler and sensor for its wastewater treatment systems, use better maintenance procedures, inspect the equipment more frequently, monitor its effluent better, and operate its pollution control system at a temperature that works best for waste treatment. All parties have agreed to the decree, but now it must be formally approved by the judge.

The Hanover Foods facility makes canned, glass-packed, and frozen vegetables goods. During food processing operations, the facility produces industrial wastewater that is treated at an on-site wastewater treatment plant. Up to 450,000 gallons per day of the treated wastewater has been sent to Penn Township’s municipal wastewater treatment plant. Additional wastewater is treated onsite and discharged into nearby Oil Creek.

Between 2016 - 2021, Hanover Foods repeatedly discharged wastewater into Oil Creek at levels exceeding permitted limits of certain pollutants — including ammonia-nitrogen, fecal coliform, sediment, and oxygen-depleting materials. For example, the plant released 121,127 pounds of suspended solids into Oil Creek in 2020, which was 58 percent over its permitted limit, according to state records.

About Environmental Integrity Project
The Environmental Integrity Project is America’s environmental watchdog. We hold polluters and governments accountable to protect public health and the environment.

About Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association
Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association is a non-profit watershed association dedicated to improving the ecological health of the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed and the Chesapeake Bay. The Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper patrols the river for illegal pollution, and when necessary, enforces environmental laws to protect the river and communities that depend on it.