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4 CapitalPress.com December 16, 2016 WSDA moves to shut down slaughterhouse, again Business owner pushes back By DON JENKINS Capital Press A Western Washington slaughterhouse that has been processing meat for two years without a license was ordered by a judge Wednesday to shut down or be fi ned, according to the state Department of Agri- culture. Rickson Vilog, owner of Rickson Livestock in Auburn, has until Dec. 22 to remove all animals from his butchering facility, King County Superior Court Judge Brian Gain ruled. Courtesy of WSDA Livestock are penned at Rickson Livestock in Auburn, Wash., in this photo taken in November by the Washington State Department of Agriculture. A judge Dec. 7 ordered the owner, Rickson Vilog, to remove the animals by Dec. 22 or face fi nes. Vilog has been butch- ering animals for two years without a license, according to WSDA. After that, Vilog faces fi nes of $100 per day for each animal. The order was the latest action in a dispute that goes back to 2011 when Vilog was fi rst cited for food-safe- ty violations. The violations included unclean equipment and the lack of an approved waste disposal system. The business has failed every in- spection since then, according to WSDA. WSDA revoked Vilog’s custom-slaughter license in 2014 and fi ned him $6,000. He paid $281 toward the fi ne, according to WSDA. The department estimat- ed Vilog has slaughtered and processed at least 500 animals since last summer. WSDA spokesman Hector Castor said the department has tried to help bring the business into compliance with health rules. “We’ve bent over back- wards trying to assist him,” Castro said. “He’s just fl outed the law and continued to op- erate.” Vilog said in an interview Friday that he has about 125 cattle and a total of about 75 sheep, goats and swine on his property. “I have to do something for a living,” he said. “So we’re going to be going to court again.” He disputed WSDA’s contention that his slaughter- house is unsanitary. He said he caters to ethnic groups who want fresh meat. “If I don’t do it, they’ll do it in their backyards,” he said. Vilog’s attorney, Raphael Igwens Nwokike, said he will fi le a motion to modify the or- der. He said he will propose that Vilog move the smaller animals off the property, but be allowed to keep the cattle. Vilog would move the cattle away from the slaugh- terhouse and not process any meat until he’s able to satisfy WSDA’s licensing require- ments, Nwokike said. “I hope I can help this cli- ent get back into business,” he said. Vilog said he’s trying to resolve septic tank issues that he blamed for being unable to regain his license to butcher animals. Environmental suit seeks ‘best-management practices’ for Washington farms By DON JENKINS Capital Press A federal lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency calls for Washing- ton state to adopt agricultural “best-management practices.” Northwest Environmental Advocates alleges the EPA has violated the Clean Water Act by failing to make the state implement so-called BMPs to protect Puget Sound and coastal watersheds. Until those practices are in place, the federal govern- ment should cut by at least one-third the $5 million the state receives annually for two water-quality programs, according to the group, which fi led the lawsuit Dec. 7 in U.S. District Court in Seattle. The lawsuit also names the National Oceanic and Atmo- spheric Administration. Northwest Environmental Advocates Executive Direc- tor Nina Bell said her group wasn’t looking to dictate farming practices, but col- lectively BMPs, even if vol- untary, must improve water quality, she said. “All we’re saying is, the state needs to fi gure it out,” she said. “And if the state doesn’t fi gure it out, the fed- eral government needs to step in and crack the whip.” The EPA declined to com- ment. Efforts to obtain com- ment from Ecology were un- successful. Ecology updated in 2015 its overarching plan to keep sediment, chemicals and an- imal waste from running into waterways. The plan applies to sources that aren’t required to have a permit, such as res- idential areas, logging sites and farms. The EPA approved the plan, but also asked Ecology to press ahead with devel- oping BMPs for farms and ranches. Ecology is expected to an- nounce this month the process it will use next year to devel- op those practices. Ecology says the practices will be vol- untary and won’t amount to new regulations. Washington Farm Bureau First Vice President Aaron Golladay credited Ecology’s current administration with good intentions. “My fear is it’s going to be hijacked by environmental groups, ‘This is what you have to do, period,’ ” said Golladay, co-chairman of Ecology’s Ag- riculture and Water Quality Advisory Committee. USDA urges against Simplot accuses partner of mismanagement Supreme Court review Lawsuit fi led against farmer of wetland lawsuit Frank Tiegs and By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press H ANNU T 8 L A 4 The USDA is urging the U.S. Supreme Court not to review a lawsuit in which a farm family challenges a wetland determination on its property. South Dakota farmer Ar- len Foster and his family have asked the nation’s highest court to reconsider an appeals court ruling that let USDA’s wetland determination stand. Because roughly an acre of their land was determined to be a wetland, they can’t farm it without disqualifying the operation from federal crop insurance and other USDA programs. The case has implica- tions for farmers nationwide because it relates to federal agencies interpreting and ap- plying regulations without in- put from the public, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. “As they tend to their land, and try to stay in compliance with the laws that are on the books, farmers should not also have to worry about new laws being cooked up by agencies behind closed doors,” AFBF said in a legal brief. “Reason- able people should not be ex- pected to order their farms or affairs around legal interpre- tations they do not even have constructive notice of.” The USDA counters that the lawsuit doesn’t merit Su- preme Court review because the agency used a reasonable interpretation of its own reg- ulations in declaring a portion of the Fosters’ property a wet- land. Under federal law, proper- ty is considered a wetland if it has the soil, hydrology and plants consistent with wet- lands. The USDA’s Natural Re- sources Conservation Service determined that the Fosters’ parcel had wetland soils and hydrology. Since the property had been altered from its natural state, the agency compared it to a similar site 33 miles away to determine it contained wet- land plants. The Fosters argue that USDA relied on a “remote comparison site, preselected 10 years prior and without notice to the Fosters or an op- portunity to be heard,” which violates their right to due pro- cess. A federal judge in South Dakota and the 8th U.S. Cir- cuit Court of Appeals sided with USDA in the case, ruling to defer to the agency’s exper- tise. The Fosters and AFBF ar- gue that the Supreme Court should overturn these deci- sions because such a great level of deference effective- ly allows federal agencies to make new laws in secret and then foist them on farms and other regulated entities. affi liates By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press The J.R. Simplot Co., a major agribusiness fi rm, is accusing its business partner, Washington farmer Frank Tiegs, of grossly mismanag- ing two joint venture food processing companies. A complaint fi led by Sim- plot in federal court claims that Tiegs is on the verge of driving the two companies, Pasco Processing and Gem State Processing, out of busi- ness. “Simplot seeks the im- mediate appointment of a third-party receiver to oper- ate the Pasco Group and Gem State,” the complaint said. “Otherwise, it is highly like- ly that the Pasco Group and Gem State will soon fail.” A spokesman for Tiegs said he has no comment on the lawsuit. According to the com- plaint, Tiegs has forced Pasco Processing of Pasco, Wash., to buy unnecessarily large amounts of crops from his farm affi liates, saddling the company with $36 mil- lion in excess inventory. Similarly, the complaint alleges that Tiegs coerced Gem State Processing of Heyburn, Idaho, to buy in- ferior quality crops from his affi liates, including rotten potatoes, often at above-mar- ket prices. Ownership of both op- erations is evenly split be- tween Tiegs and Simplot, but they’re operated by sub- Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press The National Frozen Foods Co. facility in Albany, Ore., is part of a joint venture between the J.R. Simplot Co. and farmer Frank Tiegs, which is now the subject of a lawsuit. sidiaries owned by Tiegs — Washington Potato Co. and Oregon Potato Co., according to Simplot. The complaint claims that Tiegs’ poor management has caused Gem State to suffer $5 million in losses during its 2016 fi scal year while Pasco Processing is expected to have a cash defi cit of $14 million by the end of the year. The National Frozen Food Co., a subsidiary of Pasco Processing based in Seattle, Wash., recently overdrew its checking account by more than $3 million, threatening the possibility of not meeting payroll and having checks to farmers “returned for insuffi - cient funds,” Simplot said. “A company that cannot meet the fundamental func- tions of paying employees and purchasing raw materials is unsustainable and cannot survive without interven- tion,” the complaint said. Contrary to contracts with Simplot, Tiegs’ subsidary companies have refused to communicate or turn over fi nancial records related to their management of Pasco Processing and Gem State Processing, the complaint claims. The complaint also al- leges Tiegs has tried to con- ceal signifi cant worker safety problems cited by state and federal regulators. Tiegs and his subsidiaries have also encountered serious food safety problems, such as foreign materials ending up in processed food products, the complaint alleges. 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