The saying is that 'waste material flows downhill,' and this is a classic illustration. The problems are originating at the beef slaughter plant and they are overloading the city's facilities. The city equipment cannot handle the extra wastewater, and it has released excessive amounts of ammonia and suspended solids into the Wood River.

Obviously the situation is critical and needs immediate action. While it is never a good thing to be in violation of state DEQ regulations, to have four violations in a nine-month period is certainly excessive by any standards. It shows a prolonged history of bad practices from both entities.

The state is demanding to have the city provide a summary of remedies for its violations within 30 days of March 5. JBS Swift had 10 days from March 5 to outline the problems and errors in its operation that created the violations.

At some point both the city and the slaughter plant could face fines up to $10,000 per day per violation. Obviously the city and plant would rather avoid that and take care of the problem.

To discharge tainted water into the Wood River is an egregious act and should never happen. As stewards of the city's resources, it is incumbent that the city's wastewater managers and city officials get this under control. They may have to shut down the waste received from JBS Swift until the beef plant can get its procedures remedied. The state won't sit idly on the sidelines and be slow to react. It has shown to be aggressive in enforcing state environmental laws, as it should.