Fish Kill

HANCEVILLE, Ala. (AP) — The state of Alabama is suing Tyson Foods over a 2019 wastewater spill that caused the largest recorded fish kill in the state. 

The Alabama attorney general’s office filed the suit Thursday, saying Tyson was negligent “by causing a public nuisance." The lawsuit says a pipe failure at the Tyson plant caused over 200,000 gallons of “insufficiently-treated wastewater” to flow into the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River, killing around 175,000 fish.

PARRISH, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Power Company has agreed to pay about $222,000 to settle a chemical spill and fish kill.

News outlets report the amount includes a civil penalty and compensation. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources says more than 500 fish were found dead in March, days after about 700 gallons of flame retardant spilled into Baker Creek near the company's coal-fired plant in Parrish.

HANCEVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Tyson Foods is blaming temporary piping installed by a contractor for pollution that killed tens of thousands of fish in a north Alabama river.

An open letter posted by an arm of the agricultural company says about 220,000 gallons of partially treated wastewater was released from a River Valley Ingredients plant at Hanceville on June 6.

The company says a contractor had installed temporary piping that failed. It says waste reached the Black Warrior River's Mulberry Fork, where an estimated 175,000 fish were killed.

CULLMAN, Ala. (AP) — Alabama environmental officials say another waste water spill from a Tyson Farms plant has contaminated rivers with E. coli and killed an untold number of fish.

News outlets report up to 800,000 gallons of waste water spilled last week from the Tyson Farms Inc. River Valley Ingredients plant. Tyson blames pipe failure. The mess flowed into the Sipsey Fork and Mulberry Fork rivers. Clean-up crews this week found E. coli levels twice the safe amount allowed by the state.

ATHENS, Ala. (AP) — The mayor of Athens, Alabama is blaming an "employee error" for a sewage spill that killed thousands of fish in water near Swan Creek.

Al.com reports the spill killed about 3,000 fish, including 17 federally protected slackwater darters. The endangered species lives in some Alabama and Tennessee creeks.