MONTGOMERY-The following activity has taken place at the Alabama Department of Environmental Management regarding the investigation of the Mulberry Fork fish kill:
ADEM INVESTIGATION OF MULBERRY FORK FISH KILL
NPDES Permit No. AL0040843 / Master ID 892
• The Department called a meeting in Montgomery with senior Tyson management from Alabama
and Tyson headquarters on June 13, 2019, to review public outreach, response efforts, enforcement
and remediation efforts relating to the events of the spill.
• ADEM will take the appropriate enforcement actions after a full review of the comprehensive
reports and all other available information.
• The latest results from water samples collected on June 13, 2019, indicate E. Coli levels met water
quality standards. Click here for recent Mulberry Fork/Sipsey Sampling Locations and Results.
• ADEM contacted drinking water systems with downstream water intakes after the spill regarding
possible impacts. As needed, the systems in the area have adjusted treatment so that drinking water
meets all health-based standards.
• ADEM and ADCNR are compiling all data / information collected throughout this event. Each agency
will generate a comprehensive report of its investigative activities.
• Finalized reports and other data will be available in the Department’s eFile system by selecting
“Water” for the media type and entering the Master ID 892.
RELEASE / RESPONSE EFFORTS
• A release of partially-treated wastewater from River Valley Ingredients (Tyson Farms Inc.) in
Hanceville was reported to ADEM on Thursday (6/6). The release was reportedly due to the failure
of an above-ground hose/pipe that was being used to pump the partially-treated wastewater from
one holding pond to another holding pond.
• ADEM confirmed that the discharge was stopped and alerted Tyson to initiate the public notification
process. ADEM also confirmed that emergency response contractors had been deployed to the
affected area. ADEM and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR)
began monitoring water quality and assessing impacts on Thursday (6/6). ADEM collected water
quality data at numerous locations and documented depressed levels of dissolved oxygen, which is
believed to be the main reason for fish mortality. ADCNR collected data on the overall number of
fish killed along with the different types of fish species.
• ADEM documented depressed levels of dissolved oxygen on the Mulberry Fork beginning at the
River Valley Ingredients facility and extending approximately twenty-two (22) miles downstream.
ADEM also documented elevated levels of pathogens downstream of the facility.
• Dead fish were observed as far as forty (40) miles downstream of the facility due to them being
washed downstream as a result of rains and river flow.
• ADEM worked with the Alabama Department of Public Health to confirm that a fish consumption
advisory is not warranted due to the fish kill being related to depressed levels of dissolved oxygen.
• River Valley Ingredients hired an emergency response contractor who removed recoverable
wastewater and dead fish.
Media Release/Alabama Department of Environmental Management
