Campbell’s Soup Is Being Sued for Violating the Clean Water Act 5,000+ Times
For nearly six years, the company was dumping E. coli and ammonia into Ohio waterways.
Campbell Soup Supply Company has admitted to violating the Clean Water Act more than 5,400 times over a nearly six year period from April 2018 to December 2024. Yes, you read that right — 5,400 times1.
According to a 2024 lawsuit brought against Campbell’s by Environment America and Lake Erie Waterkeeper, their Napoleon, Ohio facility was dumping ammonia, E. coli, grease, and more into Ohio waterways that feed into Lake Erie. These weren’t just small Clean Water Act violations, either — flows of waste from Campbell’s Ohio plant averaged a shocking 5.5 million gallons per day.
“They know this is a problem,” says John Rumpler, clean water director at Environment America. “They know that they need to solve it. It is a question of exactly how much money is going to be involved and what do they need to do to ensure that this pollution comes down to where it needs to be.”
The Consequences of Campbell’s Pollution
According to Environment Ohio, the most concerning waste product being released by the plant is phosphorus, which feeds toxic algal blooms made up of cyanobacteria2. “It’s this nasty, green slime that covers a huge portion of the western part of Lake Erie,” says Rumpler. “It is incredibly toxic to humans and wildlife and pets.”
In 2014, outbreaks of algal bloom in Lake Erie became such a problem they forced the City of Toledo to shut down its drinking water supply for several days, forcing more than 400,000 Ohioans to rely on bottled water3.
Next Steps for Campbell’s
On September 18, the company gave a statement saying it had begun to take action to comply with environmental regulations. “We have taken a number of steps to improve our operations and comply with environmental regulations,” it said. “Our goal is to reach a settlement that serves the interest of the environment and the community where our employees live and work.”
Now that the company has admitted wrongdoing, the issue will go to trial to determine the appropriate penalty for these violations.
“That’s great news for the people who live along the Maumee River and Lake Erie, who want prompt action on reducing sources of the toxic algae in their local waters,” says Rumpler. ”We appreciate Campbell’s willingness to work cooperatively with us and the federal government to solve its compliance problems, rather than spending time and effort contesting clear-cut violations of the Clean Water Act.”
Campbell’s has made strides in its environmental impact in recent years, pledging in 2020 a transition to 100% recyclable or industrial compostable packaging by 2030.
But despite its public pledges, the wastewater issue isn’t new for the company (nor are lawsuits). In 2021, Environmental Law and Policy Center had compiled water pollution data from the company’s Napoleon, Ohio facility from 2017 to 2021 and already found it to be one of the worst individual Clean Water Act violators in Ohio4.
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Sources:
- https://environmentamerica.org/media-center/campbell-soup-admits-to-more-than-5000-days-of-clean-water-act-violations/
- https://www.cdc.gov/harmful-algal-blooms/about/index.html
- https://www.environmentandsociety.org/arcadia/dead-zones-and-toxic-algae-bloom-us-waters
- https://elpc.org/blog/ohio-campbells-soup-facility-is-mm-mm-bad/
