BOISE, Idaho — The Justice Department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with J.R. Simplot Company regarding the Don Plant manufacturing facility located near Pocatello.
The Don Plant opened in Pocatello in 1944 and was the first fertilizer production facility built by the Simplot company. When production began, the plant produced less than 1,000 tons of phosphate products annually. Today, the plant produces over 1,000,000 tons of various phosphate products every year.
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The settlement resolves allegations that Simplot had failed to adequately manage harmful waste produced in the manufacturing of fertilizer. It also covers violations against the Clean Air Act which relate to fluoride emissions from the facility.
In total the company will pay a $1.5 million civil penalty for violations, while also providing $200,000 in funding for environmental mitigation work in Idaho, mainly addressing the habitat degradation on the Portneuf River linked to phosphorus releases from the facility.
The settlement also commits the Simplot Company to the implementation of new waste management procedures, which have been valued at around $150 million. The company has also agreed to replace the facility's cooling towers by 2026, significantly reducing their fluoride emissions.
When reached for a statement on the settlement, the Simplot Company responded "The J.R. Simplot Company is pleased to have worked with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice to reach this settlement. This more than 500-page settlement, which took over 15 years to achieve, provides for additional recovery of phosphate in our production process and other environmental protection measures associated with the handling of our ore processing materials and wastes. This settlement is part of our work to continue to provide important crop nutrients throughout North America to help feed a growing population."
The work funded by the company's civil penalty and the modifications to its waste disposal will be overseen by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.
