Source: MEATINGPLACE, 10/5/11

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a petition by House of Raeford Farms Inc. to hear its appeal of federal criminal charges alleging the company released untreated wastewater into a municipal water system, according to court documents.

The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case clears the way for a trial in federal district court in North Carolina.

The company has already paid nearly $1 million in civil fines and penalties related to the allegations and argued the criminal charges amount to double jeopardy.

The U.S. Department of Justice indicted the company and a plant manager in 2009 on charges of bypassing the pretreatment system at a turkey processing facility in Raeford, N.C., and discharging wastewater directly into the town’s municipal water system, in violation of the federal Clean Water Act.

The DOJ alleged the company discharged untreated wastewater into Raeford's municipal water system 14 times between Feb. 7, 2005, and Aug. 8, 2006. The untreated wastewater was contaminated with waste from processing operations, including blood and body parts from the slaughtered turkeys, according to the indictment.

The Raeford facility processed more than 30,000 turkeys a day and generated about 1 million gallons of wastewater a day, the DOJ said.

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