FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	ENR

FRIDAY, MAY 8, 1998                                                                                                                                       (202) 514-2008

                                                                                                                                                                                  TDD (202) 514-1888







HUDSON FOODS AGREES TO PAY $6 MILLION TO SETTLE


FEDERAL CLAIMS THAT IT POLLUTED MARYLAND WATERS



Agreement Includes New Measures to Control Agricultural Run-off


 
Could Set New Industry Standards





	WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Hudson Foods, a subsidiary of the
Arkansas-based food processing company Tyson Foods Inc., today
agreed to a $6 million settlement to resolve allegations it
polluted Maryland waters that flow into the Chincoteague Bay, the
federal government announced.

	Under the settlement, filed today in U.S. District Court in
Baltimore, the company will pay a $4 million civil penalty and
spend $2 million to stem the flow of water-polluting agricultural
run-off from Hudson's and Tyson's processing plants and farms in
Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and Pennsylvania.

	"This agreement is good for the people of Maryland and good
for the environment," said Lois Schiffer, Assistant Attorney
General in charge of the Justice Department's Environment and
Natural Resources Division.  "It is another example of how
committed we are to enforcing our nation's environmental laws so
that the people of this country have clean water to drink, and
healthy water to fish and swim in.  They deserve nothing less."

	The $2 million Hudson will spend on environmental projects
will reduce nitrate discharges from Tyson and Hudson Food
facilities and reduce phosphorous runoff into local waterways. 
High levels of nitrogen and phosphorous can overstimulate algae
growth and reduce the  population of crabs, fish, and other aquatic
life.

	The settlement also requires the food processing companies to
assist its poultry growers across the Delmarva Peninsula to develop
and implement site-specific nutrient management plans that will
help prevent pollution and protect the environmental health of
waterbodies throughout the region.  

	"This settlement illustrates the Administration's resolve to
protect critical water bodies in Maryland and across the nation,"
said Steve Herman, EPA Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance.  "It is an excellent example of the enhanced
protection of human health and the environment we seek to achieve
in our enforcement actions." 

	Lynne A. Battaglia, United States Attorney for the District of
Maryland, stated "this consent decree embodies a forward-looking
plan that places the burden of reducing harmful waste run-off from
chicken farming squarely on the shoulders of Hudson Foods, the
poultry processor.  We fully expect that the agreements that are
part of the decree will aid Maryland poultry farmers in reducing
chicken waste run-off into the Chesapeake Bay, and thus help
restore the waters of the Eastern Shore to health and vitality." 

	"Today's settlement resolves a serious threat to water quality
at Maryland's Eastern Shore, and promises to reduce water pollution
from several other sources," said EPA Regional Administrator W.
Michael McCabe.  "This is an important commitment by the poultry
industry to protect our rivers, bays and estuaries."

	According to the Justice Department's lawsuit filed with the
settlement today on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency,
Hudson's Berlin plant discharged wastewater with illegal amounts of
fecal coliform, phosporous, nitrogen, ammonia and other pollutants
into Kitts Branch.  Kitts Branch flows into Trappe Creek, Newport
Bay and Chincoteague Bay.

	Fecal coliform is an indicator of the presence of disease
carrying organisms.  EPA regulates fecal coliform to reduce the
risk of illnesses such as intestinal, skin, ear and eye infections. 
Excess levels of phosphorous and nitrogen can overstimulate algae
growth and reduce crab and fish populations.  Ammonia is toxic to
fish.

	The government's lawsuit also alleged that Hudson violated
pollution monitoring, sampling and notification requirements in its
Clean Water Act permit.  These requirements include ensuring that
testing equipment is accurate, lab tests are performed properly and
sampling records are up to date.  The government also alleged that
Hudson did not provide telephone and written notice of violations,
including steps to prevent illegal discharges from recurring.

	The proposed settlement will be published in the Federal
Register for a 30-day comment period and, if approved by the court,
will resolve the government's lawsuit.

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