(BIVN) – A lawsuit is in the works, alleging a Hawaiʻi island dairy is dumping milk and animal waste into local waterways. 

The Center for Food Safety says it sent a notice of intent to sue letter to the megadairy, which operates under the business names Meadow Gold Dairies Hawaii LLC and Cloverleaf Dairy. 

The alleged dumping, said to be taking place at the concentrated animal feeding operation in Hawi, would be in violation of the federal Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. 

The notice of intent to sue letter included a number of photographs showing the alleged dumping activity.

The Center for Food Safety says it intends to take the dairy to court after the 60-day notice period, as required by the Clean Water Act.

From the Center for Food Safety news release:

The Center for Food Safety will take to court a polluting megadairy on Hawai‘i’s Big Island for endangering local waterways with massive amounts of manure waste and discarded milk. The national public interest group sent a notice of intent to sue letter to the megadairy, operating under the business names Meadow Gold Dairies Hawaii LLC and Cloverleaf Dairy (collectively referred to as Cloverleaf Dairy), for violating the federal Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, by illegally polluting streams, groundwater, and ocean waters.

Cloverleaf Dairy, located in Hawi, Hawai‘i, is considered a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) under the Clean Water Act because it confines or has confined more than 700 mature dairy cows and hundreds of heifers and calves. The notice letter alleges that due to improper manure management and storage practices, animal wastes from Cloverleaf Dairy have discharged and polluted the Pacific Ocean on numerous occasions. The notice letter also alleges that Meadow Gold Dairies regularly dumps its waste milk from its Hilo operations.

The Clean Water Act prohibits CAFOs like Cloverleaf Dairy from discharge of any animal waste and discarded waste, including milk and animal products, without a permit. Despite the size of its operations, Cloverleaf Dairy does not appear to have a CAFO permit. Finally, the notice letter alleges that discharge of animal wastes from Cloverleaf Dairy’s manure lagoons may also constitute open dumping of solid wastes in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

“Meadow Gold and Cloverleaf Dairy have been blatantly violating environmental laws for years. It is time to stop these illegal discharges and protect the sacred sites nearby,” said Charlie Tebbutt, lead counsel for the Center for Food Safety.

“Intensive confined animal operations like Cloverleaf Dairy have devastating environmental and human health impacts. These so-called industrial solutions are simply not the answer for Hawai‘i’s fragile island ecosystem or for promoting Hawai‘i’s food self-sufficiency. It is time that Cloverleaf Dairy abide by the law,” said Sylvia Wu, Co-Executive Director of Center for Food Safety.

Center for Food Safety intends to take the dairy to court after the 60-day notice period required by the Clean Water Act.

The Center for Food Safety is represented by Charlie Tebbutt and Jon Frohnmayer of the Law Offices of Charles M. Tebbutt, PC, Tom Pierce, and Don Spurrell.