South Jersey slaughterhouse discharges bloody wastewater into creek, according to the EPA

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A South Jersey slaughterhouse violated Clean Water Act standards when it discharged wastewater and fluids containing blood, before making its way into a nearby tributary, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The agency investigated Burlington Beef in Monroeville after a resident reported that the waterway, which is used by local farmers, was crimson-colored and emitted an odor.

Environmental regulators say it’s possible the contamination has taken place for upwards of a year.

“EPA quickly and efficiently responded to these public complaints. When the water runs red, people really take notice, and so do we,” said EPA Regional Administrator Michael Martucci in a statement. “This is a textbook example of how a community tip, state partnership, and swift federal enforcement can stop pollution in its tracks. We moved fast to shut down the discharge and protect the water that farmers and families depend on.”

Burlington Beef did not respond to a request for comment.

The slaughterhouse is permitted to discharge wastewater onto a sprayfield — a large vegetated area designed to irrigate waste. However, the field where the waste was disposed of did not have vegetation and was not maintained properly, the EPA said. That ultimately led to the bloody wastewater runoff, with fluids going downstream until it reached an unnamed tributary of Muddy Run, which runs into the Maurice River.

The waterway is used for agricultural purposes downstream such as for watering crops and providing drinking water to livestock. However, as there are no surface water intakes in the area, there are no apparent impacts to drinking water, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

The incident is not the first time Burlington Beef has discharged pollutants. According to the DEP, the facility received a Notice of Violation in March 2024, after it discharged pollutants into groundwaters without a valid permit. Following this incident, environmental regulators received multiple complaints of a red discharge in a nearby stream, DEP said.

The EPA issued an order under the Clean Water Act to stop the discharge, while the DEP reached an agreement with Burlington Beef to remediate the contamination. The facility has installed a 3-foot berm around the sprayfield to contain the discharges, and will use a frac tank  — a large metal container — any time it can’t discharge to the sprayfield. The slaughterhouse has proposed treating the wastewater before discharging it underground as a possible solution.

“The site has been very cooperative in trying to do the right thing,” said Dan Asselin, an environmental engineer with the EPA who investigated the incident. “They just wanted to make sure that they are doing the right things. So we’ve been in constant talks with them and they’ve been in constant talks with the state.”

The investigation remains ongoing, according to the DEP.