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8/13/2025
WT Staff
 Knowledge of an environmental crime? Give us a call at 877-52-WATER (877-529-2837), or email info@wtny.us
August 13 2025 1022 am EDT
CrimeBox
Clean Water Act Conviction Fiscal Year 2000; Case ID# CR_1003 (Idaho)
Idaho ammonia release kills tens of thousands of fish
The Principal Defendant in this case is a private Idaho corporation in the food processing sector, convicted for a Clean Water Act violation that killed tens of thousands of fish in the Little Wood River. An individual responsible for the company and an employee were also charged with knowing violation of the CWA, Section 33.
The corporate defendant was established in 1907, headquartered in Twin Falls, Idaho for the manufacture of cheese and whey-based products. Shortly after this high profile environmental case, the company rebranded, Glanbia Foods, Inc. Federal District Court in Idaho was presented with a Bill of Information stating co-defendant individuals working at the cheese facility had allowed an illegal discharge of ammonia, a high pH substance highly toxic to aquatic life. Later the same day of the ammonia discharge, Fish and Game wardens responded to a massive fish kill in the Little Wood River. In all, nineteen miles of the river were impacted by the high pH effluent from the cheese factory. Idaho Division of Environmental Quality participated in the response, along with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. Loss of life in the river was counted at 64,000 fish.
The defendants plead guilty to the charges. The corporation was sentenced to a federal fine of $100,000 and a year of probation, along with restitution for the damage:
- $50,000 to the Bureau of Land Management
- $46,774 to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game
- $1,957 to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality
- $50,000 to the Wood River Soil and Water Conservation District.
The individual co-defendants were sentenced to a year of probation, one was ordered to perform 60 hours of community service, the other was sentenced to a fine of $500.
Federal Fine: $100,500; Restitution: $148,731; Probation: 36 months; Community Service: 60 hours
See last SDWA Legal, "Fridge technician's negligence creates a pollution cascade in Merrimack River", here.
SDWA CrimeBox briefs are compiled from EPA Criminal Enforcement records.
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