Spokane Riverkeeper sues Purina over fears of industrial contamination in waterway

A nonprofit that works to protect the Spokane River has sued Purina Mills, LLC, alleging that the company has failed to comply with requirements that it monitor discharges into the nearby waterway.

Spokane Riverkeeper, a nonprofit spun off from the former Center for Justice, filed the suit last week in federal court. It accuses the animal feed manufacturer, located at 4714 E. Trent Ave., of not following its permit issued by the state Department of Ecology by “not collecting, analyzing, and reporting quarterly discharge samples.”

“This is not just a paperwork violation – it’s a fundamental failure to protect clean water,” Katelyn Scott, the organization’s “Water Protector,” said in a news release. “Without monitoring, there’s no way to know what’s being discharged into the Spokane River, and without prevention measures, pollution is inevitable.”

Spokane Riverkeeper sent Purina a letter earlier this year warning the company of potential legal action related to its duty to test, monitor and report discharges. However, the company did not respond prior to the suit being filed in the Eastern District of Washington.

The case has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Thomas O. Rice, but no attorneys for Purina have responded. A message left with the Purina plant manager in Spokane was not immediately returned on Monday.

According to court records, Purina last year renewed an earlier permit through Ecology that requires the company to regulate a number of steps to remain in compliance. Renewed in December 2024, the permit will remain in effect until 2030.

According to the suit, Purina needs a permit because it discharges stormwater “and pollutants associated with industrial activity” into the Spokane River from its 9.31-acre property.

“The outdoor areas of Purina’s facility are visibly polluted with sediment and residues from its animal feed manufacturing and transloading activities,” the suit states. “In addition, vehicle activity and exposed metal at Purina’s facility introduce pollutants including sediment, hydrocarbons, copper, and zinc. These areas are exposed to precipitation and thereby contaminate Purina’s stormwater discharges.”

To protect nearby waterways, the company is required to develop what’s known as best-management practices and a stormwater-pollution-prevention plan in addition to annual reports to Ecology detailing its monitoring of those discharges.

The permits “require Purina to submit an accurate and complete annual report to Ecology no later than May 15 of each year,” the suit states. “Purina has violated this condition by submitting reports for 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 that do not describe the stormwater problems identified …”

“Industrial polluters cannot ignore their legal obligations to protect our waterways,” Scott said in the release. “By failing to monitor its discharges and implement meaningful pollution controls, Purina Mills is putting the health of the Spokane River at risk.”

Efforts to reach Scott on Monday afternoon were not immediately successful.

But in the suit, Spokane Riverkeeper asks Rice to order Purina to provide the nonprofit copies of all reports for three years, to take actions to remediate any environmental harm caused and to pay $68,445 in civil penalties per day for each violation since Nov. 2, 2015.

The suit also seeks to have Rice order Purina to pay legal fees associated with bringing the lawsuit and “award such other relief as this Court deems appropriate.”