Idaho clean-water advocates hope their lawsuit against one of the nation’s largest factory farms will help the state revise its reputation as a great place for polluters after the state Supreme Court ruled the litigation can proceed.

“We have the reputation of a state that is a great place to come if you have a really dirty practice,” said Buck Ryan, executive director of Snake River Waterkeeper. The organization is suing Simplot cattle feedlot in Grand View, Idaho, over what it says are toxic levels of pollution discharged into the Snake River. 

“We’re attracting these types of feedlots and dairy producers who want no administrative oversight and low regulatory costs. The cost of pollution is externalized onto local communities, waterways, native fisheries,” Ryan said. The Idaho Supreme Court rejected Simplot’s call to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds of insufficient evidence and vague claims. Snake River Waterkeeper has monitored water quality downstream of the feedlot for six years. 

“The data clearly shows the Grand View feedlot routinely discharges waste that contains (among other pathogens and pollutants) extremely high levels of fecal coliform and E. Coli bacteria, as well as high levels of nitrate and suspended solids — all of which end up in surface and drinking water,” according to a press release. 

Simplot in Grand View, formerly known as J.R. Simplot Company and Simplot Livestock Company, is one of the largest Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in the U.S. and can manage up to 150,000 head of cattle. They also provide a significant number of jobs for Grand View. However, since 2012, they have been discharging waste into the river without a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit required by the Clean Water Act.

Josh Jordan, director of global content and reputation management at Simplot, declined to comment on the litigation but said the state Supreme Court’s decision simply allowed the court proceeding to move forward and did not address whether or not Simplot is in violation. 

“I will note that this decision was related to our preliminary motion to dismiss based on the plaintiff’s failure to provide adequate notice of violation under the Clean Water Act,” Jordan said. “The Court’s decision does not address the ultimate issue of whether Simplot violated the Clean Water Act, only that the plaintiff’s notice was adequate.” 

Ryan said the judge was clear about the adequate grounds and substantial allegations to continue the case; he believes SRW has a strong case and there is adequate time for discovery of pollution due to “unsustainable process because of the high numbers of [cattle] populations” on facilities. 

“The Clean Water Act guarantees Americans that public waterways will have swimmable, drinkable, fishable water quality. All three of those are impacted and compromised by the level of pollution that we’re seeing in that portion of the river,” Ryan said. 

Ryan said SRW is not opposed to responsible animal holding and feeding practices, but instead is advocating for it in “a way that doesn’t destroy the river’s water quality and cause a collapse of the ecological framework of native species.” Since the early 2000s, Ryan has seen a dramatic increase in large CAFOs, largely due to state policies discouraging or barring regulation. The Clean Water Act is not being enforced to protect the natural resources, Ryan said. 

Following the court’s upholding, SRW will proceed to the discovery phase of the litigation, including drilling and groundwater sampling. The trial could occur in late 2025. Ryan predicts during discovery that they’ll find water quality affected by liquid manure runoff, and hopes to see manure spread in a way that contributes to less runoff by Simplot. 

“I don’t think people are highly aware of what goes into the water they drink,” Ryan said. “There’s not a lot of sampling at the end of the tap by the state that regulates this in a way that ensures people are drinking clean water.” 

This article first appeared on The Daily Yonder and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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