Yuengling to Pay Nearly $10 Million in Pollution Settlement

Amidst allegations of violating the Clean Water Act, Yuengling has agreed to pay $2.8 million in penalties and invest $7 million in its two breweries. 

The Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency announced the agreement Thursday, settling allegations that Yuengling illegally dumped industrial waste into the Greater Pottsville Sewer Authority's municipal treatment plant from 2008 to 2015, posing a threat to the Schuykill River, which provides drinking water to 1.5 million people. 

The Clean Water Act requires that companies of Yuengling's size must obtain permits and comply with limits on the amount of wastewater discharged to public water treatment facilities, and often pre-treat its waste. According to the EPA, the company violated this requirement 141 times over a seven year period.

Along with its nearly $3 million in fines, Yuengling's $7 million investment will go towards environmental audits and inspections, a fully developed pre-treatment system, improved operation and maintenance of its existing pretreatment systems, and the employment of two certified wastewater treatment operators.